Desperate families have pleaded to return to Oxfordshire as they are left trapped in war-torn Sudan and unable to reach evacuation flights.

Oxford West and Abingdon MP Layla Moran has intervened and urged the Home Office to apply "cool-headed common sense" when looking at cases.

Ms Moran appealed to the Home Office to help with the evacuation of two children who remain trapped in the country.

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Oxford Mail: Evacuation flight from SudanEvacuation flight from Sudan (Image: PO Phot Arron Hoare/UK MOD Crown copyright/PA Wire)

Ms Moran said: "I beg the minister for help with two constituency cases I have.

"One is an 11-month-old boy, his father a constituent of mine, his mother is Sudanese.

"Quite understandably they don't want to travel without being absolutely guaranteed that they're all going to get on that flight together so they haven't.

"Another is a two-year-old child their mother is British, their father is Sudanese, and they all want to put in visas so they can travel together."

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The fresh calls come as MPs were told on Tuesday that British nationals are being "beaten and robbed" when they are on route to catch evacuation flights out of Sudan.

Oxford Mail: Evacuation flight from Cyprus arrives at Birmingham airportEvacuation flight from Cyprus arrives at Birmingham airport (Image: Joe Giddens/PA Wire)

People have been forced to make a treacherous journey to Wadi Saeedna airfield in Khartoum, with no accompaniment from UK military personnel.

Speaking to the BBC, one family called on the government to “show empathy” as they remained trapped in Khartoum.

Niam Ali, who lives in Oxford and works as a locum pharmacist, was reportedly denied a flight home after being told her family– two-year-old son Yousif and husband Mohammed Yassien – were not eligible for rescue.

Mrs Ali said: "If my husband goes out on foot to try and get us food, he has to take a knife or a sword with him to protect himself because there's gang violence.”

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Ms Moran asked Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell whether he understood that "separation is not an option".

The Oxford MP warned the government "risked failing these very small children who should be and are citizens of this country."

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Oxford Mail: Sign up to Ed Halford's free weekly Politics newsletter here Sign up to Ed Halford's free weekly Politics newsletter here (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Mitchell assured Ms Moran that UK officials would continue to help those wanting to leave Sudan but he highlighted that there "has to be a ceasefire" to help the humanitarian work.

Conservative MP Nickie Aiken said she was also aware of a "number of Westminster residents" who were "still stuck in Sudan" and "scattered across the country".

She said they also faced the similar issue of "not having been able to get to Khartoum to secure a passage on one of the flights out".

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Defending the UK Government's response to the evacuation, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said it was impossible to provide an armed escort to the airfield when people were travelling from multiple points around Sudan's capital to reach the airfield.

Mr Cleverly responded to MPs' concerns by highlighting that "no country in the world was able to provide" the "level of security" which would be needed for a military escort to the airfield.

He said the "military practicalities" of an armed escort had proven to be "insurmountable".

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Ed specialises in writing political stories for the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times. 

He joined in the team in February 2023, after completing a History undergraduate degree at the University of York and studying for his NCTJ diploma in London.

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