People in Birmingham are among those with family in Sudan, anxiously waiting for news about their loved ones.

Birmingham doctor Fathi Jamil told the BBC he has lost two relatives in Sudan this week. They had kidney failure and had been unable to access dialysis treatment due to the breakdown in health services.

"The rebels came and they asked them to move out of the house. Access to water, electricity, internet, food is a big problem."

The eligibility of who can be evacuated from Sudan has not changed, but those working to evacuate British nationals have some "element of discretion" over who they assist, Downing Street has said.

British passport holders and their immediate family with existing UK entry clearance are the only people being told they are eligible.

When PM Rishi Sunak's spokesman was asked what exactly "discretion" means in this context, he said the government has been clear that people "should not go to the airport unless you are a British passport holder or their dependent", but added that they also want to "empower people on the ground to make decisions" in extremely difficult circumstances.

The spokesman also told reporters there are no current plans to create a specific resettlement scheme for anyone fleeing Sudan, but the government is still reviewing the situation.

Sudan's military has been carrying out air strikes against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the capital Khartoum, despite a ceasefire being in force, the AFP news agency is reporting.

Warplanes have been seen over the city's northern suburbs, while fighters on the ground have been exchanging artillery and heavy machine-gun fire, it quotes witnesses as saying.

Meanwhile, Sudan News has tweeted that three civilians were injured, external when a projectile hit a residential block in Khartoum.

It did not say who was behind the attack.

• A three-day ceasefire between two rival armies - the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group (RSF) is due to end at midnight tonight. Fighting has continued in parts of the country despite the ceasefire

• Sudan's health ministry says at least 512 people have been killed in the conflict so far since 15 April, but the real death toll is thought to be much higher
• Around 536 British nationals have been evacuated from Sudan. The BBC has spoken to people arriving at Larnaca airport in Cyprus
• UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has advised British citizens in Sudan to get out now. He says there is no guarantee that evacuations will be possible after the ceasefire ends
• The BBC's Newsday programme has been told that militiamen have been terrorising civilians in the city of Nyala in South Darfur, a sign that violence has spread beyond the capital Khartoum

Peter Henley
Political editor

Image source, PA Media

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has accused the British government of being “asleep at the wheel” when it comes to evacuations from Sudan.

“Other countries were way better than us," he says.

"The British response has been way too slow, just as we saw in Afghanistan with terrible costs.

"This British government seems to be asleep at the wheel every time they’re asked to step up.”

Image source, Reuters

Securing a longstanding ceasefire will require regional powers to be more involved in negotiations, a security expert has told the BBC.

James Horner, former deputy director for the Horn of Africa at the International Crisis Group think tank, says the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are all "to one extent or another backers" of both the Sudanese Armed Forces and parameter Rapid Support Force (RSF).

He explains none of these nations "have shown much of an inclination" to bring an end to the fighting "or even ask for much in the way of a ceasefire".

Asked by BBC News why they have been quiet, given the possibility of the conflict spilling over into neighbouring countries, Horner says the conflict is "seen as somewhat existential for these regional benefactors" of both sides.

Horner adds there is an ongoing "battle for control" over Sudan in the wake of the end of Omar al-Bashir's three decades of authoritarian rule - his regime was toppled in 2019.

Olga Robinson
BBC Verify

Image source, PA Media

According to Vessel Finder and Marine Traffic websites, HMS Lancaster has arrived at Port Sudan, where it is to take part in the evacuation of British nationals and residents.

BBC Verify will continue tracking the movements of the Royal Navy frigate and report on any updates here.

In the latest sign that the violence in Sudan has spread beyond the capital Khartoum, militiamen have been terrorising civilians in the city of Nyala in South Darfur, a journalist and rights monitor there has told the BBC's Newsday programme.

"They are looting, stealing, destroying people’s property and killing," Ahmed Gouja said.

He added that the fighters were aligned with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is involved in a battle for power with the Sudanese army.

"There are two sides to this war - the RSF and the Sudanese army. At the same time we have a war with militias who are looting and stealing people’s property," Gouja added.

The RSF, formed in 2013, has its origins in the notorious Janjaweed militia that brutally fought rebels in Darfur, where they were accused of ethnic cleansing.

In its latest update on the conflict, external, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said that fighting, looting and the burning of houses had also been reported in Ag Geneina town in West Darfur on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"Markets have reportedly been looted, as well as several humanitarian organisations’ premises. Most of the health centres are not functioning."

There were concerns about a potential escalation of ethnic tensions, it added.

Rua, who was evacuated from Sudan with her baby has told the BBC, "It was really difficult getting out... I just thank God that we’re here."

She said both herself and her baby were sick, and had found it hard to be prioritised to get on a flight.

"Can you imagine staying at home and not being able to sleep, not being able to eat? We were out of food, out of water, no electricity network, nothing," she added.

Rua was on board a flight with other UK citizens that arrived into Larnaca, Cyprus this morning. The group is due to return to the UK on a further flight.

Lewis Vaughan Jones, in Larnaca

At times, a stark contrast here between scenes of happy holidaymakers pushing their luggage through the airport and people who have just fled Sudan, carrying black plastic bags and suitcases of whatever they could bring.

In the last few minutes, two coaches of UK nationals who managed to flee the fighting arrived - they will board a chartered flight back to the UK.

They made it to an airfield just north of Khartoum yesterday and were flown to Cyprus on military aircraft where they were put up in hotels.

One man told me about his relief that he is finally going home and described the difficult journey to the airfield in Sudan and seeing bodies in the streets.

Image source, Getty Images

With South Sudan leading the mediation efforts in Sudan to extend the ceasefire which is due to end tonight, Rapid Support Forces have accused the Sudanese army of attacking one of their bases in Kafuri area, Bahri city, north of Khartoum, with air strikes and artillery.

The accusation came at a time when the Sudanese army had accepted South Sudan President Salva Kiir's proposal of face-to-face discussions but the RSF has yet to answer the proposal.

RSF said on Facebook this morning: "Since morning, the extremist putschist forces have been attacking the Rapid Support Forces camp in Kafuri area, with air strikes and artillery. Our troops have confronted the attacking forces."

The Sudanese army has not commented on the accusations and we cannot independently verify the claims.

Image source, Brian McDaid

Irishman Brian McDaid has arrived back home in Londonderry after escaping from Sudan.

He was forced to shelter in a basement with his family in Khartoum as gunfire and shelling hit the city.

McDaid worked as a teacher at an international school in Sudan, and was evacuated with his family by the Spanish military.

As an Irish passport holder, McDaid said he got a call from Irish officials on Sunday morning advising him to go to the Spanish ambassador's residence in Khartoum.

McDaid said his family had to make a split-decision and decided that where they were hiding was no longer safe and they had to go.

He told the BBC Radio Foyle that the journey to the airstrip was "one of the most stressful journeys I have ever made".

"Before we left our neighbourhood I thought 'this can't be happening' - there was a little mortar that dropped and fell maybe three metres from one of the cars," he said.

Image source, International Rescue Committee

Thousands of Sudanese people are on the move, with many travelling to take refuge in neighbouring Chad.

David Miliband, president and chief executive of the International Rescue Committee, says his organisation is helping people who have fled to Chad.

“The situation in Sudan has regional ramifications with nearly 20,000 Sudanese displaced into neighbouring Chad. Chad has been generously welcoming in Sudanese refugees, but Chad itself is a low-income, crisis-affected country which will struggle to maintain this generosity unless they receive immediate economic support."

He added that while "European leaders are focused on evacuating their citizens... there is no time to waste in shifting focus on supporting and protecting those who remain".

Sudan's health ministry says the number of people killed in the clashes between the army and the RSF is 512 - with another 4,193 injured.

A post on its Facebook page says: "The [ministry's] report showed that there were 4,193 injuries and 512 deaths in the country, including 2,403 injuries and 169 deaths in Khartoum state during that period [between 15 to 25 April]."

Meanwhile, in a separate Facebook post, the Sudanese Doctors' Syndicate put the civilian death toll from the fighting between 15 to 26 April at 303, with 1,848 injured.

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

Image source, Omer Kamal Mahgoub

I've been talking to Omer Kamal Mahgoub, a doctor working in a suburb of Khartoum. He says healthcare services have broken down in the city.

"Most hospitals in Khartoum are not functioning. Emergency departments are operating in some hospitals, but it takes many hours to be seen by a doctor. If you go in with a gunshot wound, you have to wait seven hours to be seen. You will bleed in the waiting room for seven hours."

"The main problem for people is getting to hospital due to lack of petrol."

Omer works as a primary care doctor in a suburb which he describes as "relatively safe".

"At my clinic this week I saw a boy who had not eaten for two days because his dad is a day labourer. He gets paid by the day and had no work due to the fighting so there was no food. The boy was severely dehydrated."

"Cancer patients are on hold. People are coming to me to ask for cancer medicines as they cannot get them from their usual hospitals."

"RSF soldiers are even stopping ambulances at checkpoints. I was travelling in an ambulance with some patients, and the soldiers stopped us and asked me to get out. When they asked me what I was doing, I knew that the one thing not to tell them is that I'm a doctor as I was afraid they would take me and force me to treat their fighters."

"Personally I have no plans to leave Khartoum. Me and my family are all staying here. We have bought a house here. This is our home."

Image source, Getty Images

At the heart of the battle for Sudan are these two men: Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces, and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Initially the pair worked together. They carried out a coup - relying on one another - but now their battle for supremacy is tearing Sudan apart.

To understand their relationship we need to go back a bit.

Both played key roles in the counter-insurgency against Darfuri rebels, in the civil war in Sudan's western region that began in 2003.

Gen Burhan rose to control the Sudanese army in Darfur.

Hemedti was the commander of one of the many Arab militias, collectively known as the Janjaweed, which the government employed to brutally put down the largely non-Arab Darfuri rebel groups.

Read more about it here.

Image source, Getty Images

Africa minister in the UK Foreign Office, Andrew Mitchell, has warned that an end to the ceasefire could result in a humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan.

He told the foreign affairs think tank Chatham House: “It is essential that a ceasefire is maintained and that a political process is secured.

“If not, the humanitarian consequences will be incalculable.

“The UK will continue to work tirelessly to help bring an end to the violence and provide vital humanitarian relief.”

Earlier, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said that he couldn't offer guarantees about evacuations from Sudan - if and when the current ceasefire would end.

He said: "We do know is it will be much, much harder, potentially impossible."

South Sudan - leading mediation efforts to end the conflict - says the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has not responded to a proposal to extend the ceasefire to Sunday.

Foreign Minister Deng Dau Deng told the BBC that General Hamdan Dagalo has also not answered calls for face-to-face talks.

A statement from Sudan’s army said its leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had given his initial approval to the request.

Deng Dau Deng told the BBC: “We hope that General Dagalo will be able to respond positively to the request.”

The ceasefire, due to end at midnight local time, between the Sudanese army and the RSF has been strained by reports of continued fighting and shelling in parts of Sudan.

Cat Wiener
BBC World Service Newsroom

China, one of Sudan's largest trading partners, has deployed naval vessels to evacuate more of its citizens.

Its foreign ministry said it expected to transfer some 800 people before the ceasefire is due to end tonight.

Rescue operations by a number of countries have intensified since the truce began on Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of Sudanese nationals are also fleeing the violence and insecurity in their country.

The majority have taken refuge in the neighbouring states of South Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, Egypt and Djibouti.

Aid agencies are calling for urgent humanitarian assistance for the refugees.

Many have been displaced not just by the fighting but by shortages of water, food and other vital supplies in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and the near collapse of the city's health system.