As we heard earlier, Saudi Arabia has welcomed almost 1,700 civilians to its shores. They've travelled there by boat across the Red Sea from Sudan.

Image source, Saudi Press Agency/Reuters

Image source, Saudi Press Agency/Reuters

Image source, Saudi Press Agency/Reuters

Image source, Saudi Press Agency/Reuters

Nearly 1,700 civilians from more than 50 countries fleeing Sudan have arrived in Saudi Arabia in a boat, the foreign affairs ministry says.

The ministry says civilians were transported by one of the Kingdom's ships, and it says "the Kingdom was keen to provide all the basic needs of foreign nationals in preparation for their departure".

It is the largest rescue effort by Saudi Arabia so far.

Thousands of people have been trying to flee the country during a shaky three-day ceasefire between rival military factions.

Yahya will be one of the first Britons to arrive in the UK from Cyprus later, after he fled Sudan with his family.

He spoke to our colleague Nick Garnett at Larnaca airport before he got on the next flight.

Image source, AFP

A Sudanese nurse, Nuha Mahjob, who lives with her elderly father and mother who is ill, is trying to find a way out of Khartoum but says it’s not safe and the tickets are too expensive.

Speaking to the Today programme earlier, she said “We are hearing gunshots and explosions. I am trying to travel to Wad Medani or to the north of Sudan. But the ticket price for one person is about 15000 Sudanese pounds. We are six people. I cannot pay this money to travel.”

The hospital she works at was bombed last week, when her sister - also a nurse - was at the hospital working:

“I cannot return to my work. They bombed the hospital last week, some patients and other nurses including my sister were there when the attack happened.

BBC Monitoring

Detained ex-officials from the regime of ousted President Omar al-Bashir have reportedly fled from Kober Prison in Khartoum, which has been the epicentre of Sudan's power struggle.

It is unclear if Bashir - who was jailed for corruption during his 30-year tenure - is among the escapees.

However, Al Jazeera on Tuesday cited family members saying he was still receiving treatment at a military hospital in the Sudanese capital.

And an official from the former governing National Congress Party (NCP) who fled from the prison told the Al-Sudani newspaper that they will "surrender to the judicial authorities when the situation allows".

"We made a decision to protect ourselves due to lack of security, water, food and treatment, as well as the death of many prisoners in Kober [prison]," Ahmed Haroun said.

Haroun is wanted for alleged war crimes, which he has previously denied. They relate to the alleged incitement of violence against civilians in Darfur. He was arrested in 2019 following the coup against Bashir.

Prisons have reportedly been targeted as fighting between the rival military factions rage for a second week.

In South Darfur's capital of Nyala, at least 750 prisoners reportedly escaped following protests and riots by inmates, while hundreds of others have escaped from other prisons in Khartoum and Omdurman.

Image source, Getty Images

Home Secretary Suella Braverman earlier told Sky News that between 200 and 300 UK nationals had been evacuated from Sudan so far.

"We are now commencing an extensive operation, working with over 1,000 personnel from the RAF and the armed forces," she said.

Nick Garnett
Reporting from Larnaca

The government says it has about a 48-hour window in which to evacuate as many people as possible, and as a result the RAF plane is dropping people off in Cyprus - which is roughly halfway between Sudan and the UK - before heading back to Khartoum to pick up the remaining evacuees.

While many people I have spoken to were terrified making their way to the airfield, they said that once they made contact with the British officials at the base, everything went smoothly.

The third evacuation flight from Sudan has now arrived in Cyprus, the BBC's Nick Garnett, who's in Larnaca, reports.

It means all three flights have now arrived, with one arriving yesterday and another overnight.

The people onboard the first flight - 39 in total - were allowed to stay at local hotels and return to the airport this morning. Those on the later flights are being kept inside the airport before their flight back to the UK later today, he says.

Some 230-240 UK nationals are being evacuated from Sudan, the Foreign Office has said, adding that was the total number of people on the three evacuation flights.

Two flights have landed and one is in the air.

Social media video shows the extent of the damage on the ground in northern Khartoum, where fighting broke out 11 days ago. Hundreds have been killed in the violence.

The BBC has verified the location of the video, but not the date it was filmed.

This video has no sound

Image source, Reuters

A former Sudanese politician wanted for alleged crimes against humanity has said that he and other former officials are no longer in jail.

Ahmad Harun was among those being held in Kober prison in the capital Khartoum who are facing charges by the International Criminal Court.

A ceasefire between Sudan's army and a rival paramilitary group still largely appears to be holding.

But there are doubts about both parties' commitment to a lasting peace.

Read more.

As the evacuation of foreign nationals from Sudan continues, British troops are preparing to take over control of the airfield near Khartoum from where the evacuations are taking place.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK would take charge of the airstrip near from German forces, after Berlin said its final evacuation flight would leave on Tuesday night.

He said 120 British troops have already been supporting the operation there.

Image source, Hannah McKay / Pool / AFP

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has defended the UK government's approach to getting British citizens out of Sudan, following criticism that the Foreign Office is failing those stuck in Khartoum.

Speaking to broadcasters after launching the first evacuation flight from Sudan, he said there will be "many more" flights out of Sudan.

Asked about the accusations of failing to help UK citizens, the prime minister says he is "pleased that we were actually one of the first countries to safely evacuate our diplomats and our families".

He adds it is right that diplomats and their relatives were prioritised "because they were being targeted".

He says more than 1,000 people have been contacted and many are making their way to the airfield. So far, two RAF planes arrived in Cyprus.

Image source, AFP

The fourth ceasefire attempt since the beginning of the clashes started at 22:00GMT on Monday and for the first time it seemed holding, although we did hear reports of gunfire.

That gave countries, including the UK, the opportunity to to keep evacuating their citizens.

Unlike the other countries that mostly started their efforts at the weekend, Britain launched its first evacuation flight yesterday and another one overnight. We know that 39 British passport holders were on the first flight, but the Foreign Office hasn’t confirmed how many were on the second plane.

Another big news line from Sudan yesterday was the World Health Organization’s warning of a "high risk of biological hazard" after a laboratory storing pathogens was seized.

Paul Adams
Reporting from Nairobi

The UN has reported scattered fighting in various places – including artillery and airstrikes – but the nationwide ceasefire, which came into effect more than 24 hours ago has held sufficiently for this evacuation process to continue.

The airstrip north of Khartoum which countries have been using to mount these flights remains secure, and I think we’re going to see it continue to be used throughout today and probably tomorrow too.

There are big questions though about how easy it is for people to reach it. If you look at a map of who controls what streets in Khartoum and Omburman, it’s a very, very confusing situation – you’ve also got the added problem of fuel prices, which are going through the roof.

So there are a number of reasons why it’s very difficult, but by and large there seems to be just enough peace in the area for the evacuations to continue.

There is also a fear now among the Sudanese. There is a worry that when the international community flees the country, western eyes are not going to be where they need to be. And when this ceasefire ends at the end of tomorrow, the fighting may increase, and we may see an infinitely more chaotic situation unfolding with potentially enormous humanitarian consequences.

Jamie Whitehead
Live reporter

Good morning and thank you for joining us this morning as our live coverage of the evacuation from Sudan continues.

Fighting between the army and paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces broke out in the capital Khartoum 11 days ago and has spread to other parts of the country.

On Monday, a 72 hour truce was called to allow civilians to escape. This appears to be holding but we have heard reports from people in the capital who say they have heard gunfire and shelling.

Two flights evacuating British passport holders have landed at an RAF base in Cyprus and the Foreign Office says they will only be there a maximum of two days before being given the option of returning to the UK. The first flight back to the UK is due to leave later today.

We’ll be bringing you updates throughout the day from our teams in Africa, Cyprus and London so do stay with us.