(MENAFN) The UK government has come under fire for its handling of the crisis in Sudan, with critics arguing that it has failed to learn lessons from its withdrawal from Afghanistan. The criticism came after the government sent troops to rescue its diplomatic team from the capital Khartoum amid deadly clashes on Sunday.

Alicia Kearns, chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said that while the evacuation of the diplomatic staff was necessary, there are still an estimated 3,000-4,000 UK nationals trapped in Sudan who require assistance. She added that "well over 1,000" of them had requested help leaving the country.

Kearns cited poor communication from the government to UK citizens as proof that sufficient progress had not been made since the Afghanistan withdrawal in August 2021. She stated that nationals who had registered with the Foreign Office had received just two automated messages from UK authorities since the fighting broke out last week, with limited advice.

"We have a moral obligation to tell British nationals as soon as possible that (evacuating the diplomatic staff) is the judgment that has been made, because they then need to make their own decisions," she told the BBC. "That would suggest no lessons have been learned from Afghanistan and I have urged the government to make sure they are communicating regularly with British nationals. The reality is that, unlike other countries, we have thousands (of nationals in Sudan) so perhaps sometimes phoning around is terribly difficult."

The criticism comes as the situation in Sudan remains tense, with clashes between military and civilian groups continuing to escalate. The UK government has stated that it is doing all it can to assist British nationals in the country, but Kearns and others argue that more needs to be done to ensure their safety and prompt evacuation.

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