Rishi Sunak calls COBRA meeting on Sudan civil war amid plans to rescue stranded Brits from carnage

RISHI Sunak has called a COBRA meeting on the Sudan civil war amid plans to rescue Brits.

The UK government plans to evacuate British diplomats and nationals from Sudan, with two COBRA meetings already held yesterday.

Now Sunak will chair a further COBRA meeting with key ministers from the Ministry of Defence and Foreign Office.

A UK government spokesperson said: "We recognise that the situation is extremely concerning for British nationals trapped by the fighting in Sudan.

"We are doing everything possible to support British nationals and diplomatic staff in Khartoum, and the Ministry of Defence is working with the Foreign Office to prepare for a number of contingencies."

The spokesperson added: "We are coordinating across government and with our international partners to provide the best ongoing consular assistance to British nationals and support for our diplomatic staff.

"We will continue to issue updates as the situation develops."

COBRA is a committee chaired by the PM and brought together to deal with major national crises.

It was established following the 1972 Miner's Strike and the membership changes depending on the nature of the emergency.

It takes its name from Cabinet Briefing Room A, which is where the committee meets.

At least 400 people have died and thousands more have been injured since rival factions of Sudan’s army attacked each other.

The Sun revealed that UK troops are now on standby to rescue thousands of Brits trapped in Sudan's civil war.

A defence source said sending troops to the region "should be seen as prudent planning".

A fleet of RAF C-17 transport planes are also on standby to repeat Operation Pitting – the mass evacuation of Kabul in 2021.

Details emerged as the Foreign Office issued an urgent appeal for Brits in Sudan to register their details online.

Diplomats advised UK nationals “to remain indoors and follow our travel advice for more updates”.