*French rescue convoy attacked
British diplomats and their families evacuated from Sudan in a “complex and rapid” operation, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirms
Sunak said work was continuing to ensure the safety of British nationals who remain in Sudan.
The evacuees were taken to an airfieldoutside of Khartoum to fly out of the country overnight, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the BBC.
Fierce violence erupted last week in Khartoum between two opposing forces.
Earlier, President Joe Biden confirmed that the US military had evacuated American diplomats and their families from Khartoum.
The operation was “fast and clean”, a US official said.
Fewer than 100 people were reportedly evacuated early on Sunday, when three Chinook helicopters landed near the US embassy to collect them.
The French ministry of foreign affairs announced it was also evacuating its citizens and nationals of other EU and allied countries.
However, both Sudan’s regular army and its opponents – a paramilitary force called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – have said that the evacuation convoy was fired at after leaving the French embassy and had to turn back. They blamed each other for the attack.
