The Sudan conflict explained as thousands are evacuated from African nation

British diplomats and their families are being evacuated from Sudan amid widespread violence.

British troops flew into Khartoum on Saturday on a covert mission to rescue people located between two warring factions locked in a power struggle.

Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said there were "specific threats and violence directed towards diplomats" which led to the decision to evacuate staff. Other countries have also launched their own evacuation missions.

What is going on?

Here is everything you need to know about the conflict.

Who is fighting and why?

Tensions have been increasing between Sudan’s army, led by Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and a paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, which toppled a civilian government led by dictator Omar al-Bashir together in an October 2021 coup.

Things got fraught because of an internationally-backed plan to launch a new transition with civilian parties which was due to be signed earlier in April. It would have made the army and the RSF cede power but the timetable for the RSF to be integrated into the regular armed forces and when the army would be formally placed under civilian oversight proved contentious causing fighting to break out on 15 April.

How many people have died?

The World Health Organisation says the fighting has killed more than 400 people and injured 3,500, but the death toll is believed to be much higher.

What have world leaders said about the crisis?

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi agreed that the UK and Egypt would work with international partners, including the African Union, on diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire.

Tobias Ellwood MP, chair of the Commons defence select committee, said the PM should now focus on "phase two" of evacuations to ensure that all British passport holders who want to leave the country can be extracted.

Labour's shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, praised military efforts to evacuate diplomats, but said he was "deeply concerned" about the welfare of British nationals who remained stuck in Sudan.

Alicia Kearns MP, chair of the foreign affairs select committee, said the evacuation of British diplomats and their families was an "enormous operation and incredibly complex evacuation".

She told BBC's Newshour that she did not know how many British nationals may be stuck in Sudan but she imagined they are feeling "abject fear".

How many people have been evacuated?

It is thought that around two dozen British diplomats plus family members as well as a handful of officials from other nations have been helped, making a total evacuation party of around 30 people.

Two Royal Air Force transport planes - a C-130 Hercules and an A400M Airbus took off from RAF Akrotiri, a British military base in Cyprus.

US authorities said they had airlifted fewer than 100 people with three Chinook helicopters on Sunday morning in a "fast and clean" operation.

More than 1,000 European Union citizens had been taken out of Sudan, according to an update from the EU's foreign policy chief on Monday morning.

British nationals, or those with UK passports, can tell the government if they are trapped in Sudan by using this form.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.