Sudan fighting: Plea to government to bring woman back to the UK

Rita El-Gazali flew to Khartoum to visit her sick and elderly father

The family and friends of a British national stranded in Sudan are calling on the government to bring her home.

Rita El-Gazali, from Bournemouth, flew to Khartoum to visit her sick and elderly father but now cannot leave after street battles broke out.

Clashes began between the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group and the Sudanese army on 15 April.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) said it was in touch with British nationals there.

Sarra Elkhalifa, Ms El-Gazali's daughter, said she was worried about her mother's safety.

She told the BBC: "At any point she could be shot, killed, attacked - the worst things you could imagine upon someone could happen to her.

"There is the risk for her life, her safety, her mental health, having to cope with all this. It's awful what she's going through."

Civilians are bearing the burnt of the fighting as rival military factions bombard each other

The family have managed to have brief phone conversations with Ms El-Gazali but are struggling with the lack of connectivity.

Ms Elkhalifa said: "I don't know how she really is or how she's even coping. You can just hear how sad and depressed she is and you can hear bombs going off in the background."

Ms El-Gazali found herself near the epicentre of the fighting and during a short ceasefire was able to escape to another property with her 82-year-old father.

But when the house next door was attacked they were forced to flee once more.

Sarra Elkhalifa says she can hear bombs in the background when she is able to reach her mother on the phone

Ms Elkhalifa appealed to the British government to help.

"I understand it's a very difficult and dangerous situation but I know they will have to do something," she said.

"They have a duty of care... get them on a plane... get them out now."

Beatriz Brooks said she was "very concerned" for her friend of more than 20 years, who she described as having a "huge heart".

"She's trying to maintain her sense of humour and be positive about it, but... it's very, very difficult," she explained.

"In the beginning they didn't have any feedback from the embassy. The only thing they said is keep yourself indoors, and they did, until the house next door [blew up]."

A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said: "We are continuing to communicate with British nationals trapped in Khartoum and across the country to gather crucial information on their whereabouts and relay our latest advice.

"We advise all British Nationals in Sudan to remain indoors and follow our travel advice for further updates."

After a week of fighting between the two factions more than 400 people have been killed.

The two sides had been sharing power with the head of the army, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, as de facto leader, and the head of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, as his deputy.