The UK government Tuesday announced that officials began a “large scale evacuation” effort to help British nationals leave Sudan amidst ongoing fighting in the region. The operation follows the 72-hour ceasefire agreement between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), over a week after fighting began.

Amid the recent escalation of violence in the country, UK government officials are directly contacting those with British passports in Sudan, who will be flown out of the country on Royal Air Force flights. They will depart from an airfield outside Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, and priority will be given to family groups with children, the elderly and individuals with medical conditions. The government is working with international partners to arrange this departure and is exploring other options to help British nationals leave Sudan.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak commended the efforts of those involved in the evacuations in a statement issued via Twitter:

I pay tribute to the British Armed Forces, diplomats and Border Force staff carrying out this complex operation. The UK will continue to work to end the bloodshed in Sudan and support a democratic government.

On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the 72-hour ceasefire brokered between the SAF and RSF would begin at midnight on Tuesday. Many countries have launched similar operations to evacuate their own citizens from Sudan during this time, amid fears that the ceasefire will not last. While British efforts begin, French forces yesterday evacuated 538 people of 41 different nationalities from Sudan to Djibouti. US officials also evacuated just under 100 American staffers from their embassy in Sudan.