LONDON — Foreign Secretary James Cleverly rejected claims the U.K’s evacuation of its diplomats from Sudan hampered Germany’s own bid to get its nationals out of the conflict-hit country.
The BBC on Thursday quoted multiple German “political sources” who blamed the U.K.’s attempts to evacuate embassy staff over the weekend for delays Germany experienced as it tried to evacuate its own citizens.
The broadcaster said that the Sudanese army initially refused access to the airfield north of Sudanese capital Khartoum after being angered by the unannounced presence of British military forces on the site.
In what has been seen as a veiled swipe at the U.K., the BBC quoted German Defense Minister Boris Pistorious as saying British forces involved in the evacuation of diplomats “ignored what the Sudanese had stipulated.”
Addressing MPs Thursday, Cleverly said the German government had not raised the issue with London.
“It is not my understanding that at any point we flew without permissions and it is not my understanding that [the evacuation] had a negative knock-on effect to others,” Cleverly told the House of Commons.
“If there are any lessons that we need to learn about the complexities of operations like this we will do so, but I can assure … [concerns] have not been raised with me,” he added.
The U.K.’s Ministry of Defense also pushed back at the report, saying in a statement that it was “not accurate to suggest that Britain’s efforts to evacuate embassy staff from Sudan last weekend slowed-down Germany’s plans.”
“Operating in such complex circumstances will always come with challenges, but we have worked extremely closely with our French, U.S. and particularly German partners who have facilitated access to the airfield throughout this week, and of course we remain grateful to the Sudanese Armed Forces,” they added.
A power struggle between Sudan’s military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, has plunged the African nation into fresh conflict.
The U.K.’s wider evacuation from Sudan began Tuesday. Ministers had initially argued that the conditions on the ground were too dangerous pending a cease-fire, which began late Monday and is due to expire Thursday night. According to Downing Street, seven flights have now lifted British nationals from Sudan since Tuesday.
UK pushing for cease-fire extension
In a round of interviews earlier Thursday, Cleverly said any further evacuation efforts will be “potentially impossible” once that cease-fire ends. He confirmed in the Commons that the government expects the cease-fire to end Thursday night and is “pushing hard” for an extension.
Asked if the U.K. will keep going regardless with efforts to evacuate Brits, Cleverly said the government would “endeavour” to do so.
“It is almost impossible for us to predict whether there will be an extension and what the circumstances might be like if the extension does not happen,” Cleverly told MPs.
