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‘No electricity, no water… just continuous bombardment’: A family member describes situation on the ground
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Indian citizens stranded in conflict-ridden Sudan have desperately appealed for help and expressed their exasperation at the situation on the ground, with evacuations still yet to begin despite their home country dispatching a warship and two airforce planes to the region.
India has one of the largest contingents of foreign nationals still inside Sudan, with about 3,000 of its citizens believed to be stranded in the country that was last week thrust into civil conflict.
The families of these Indian nationals have appealed to the Narendra Modi administration on social media for their safe return. Speaking to The Independent, relatives back home expressed their anguish and worries over the wellbeing of their loved ones, and pleaded with the government for their swift and safe return.
Fighting began in Sudan on 15 April when army units loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan’s transitional governing Sovereign Council, clashed with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, the deputy head of the council.
The conflict since then has escalated and involves armoured vehicles, truck-mounted machine guns and warplanes that have been seen and heard in and around capital Khartoum and the adjoining city of Omdurman, with hopes for a ceasefire to coincide with the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid failing to materialise.
More than 420 people, including 264 civilians, have been killed and over 3,700 wounded in the fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the RSF, according to the WHO.
Issuing a statement on Sunday, India’s foreign ministry said the government “is making all-out efforts to ensure safety and security of Indians” stranded in the country.
Prime minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting after which it was decided to deploy military transport aircraft to the African nation.
India’s foreign ministry, in its statement, said it is closely coordinating with various agencies, including the Sudanese authorities, the Indian Embassy in Sudan, as well as countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and the US.
“Contingency plans are in place but any movement on the ground would depend on the security situation, which continues to be volatile with reports of fierce fighting at various locations in Khartoum,” India’s foreign ministry said in its statement.
The embassy has been advising its citizens “on the viability of safe movement and the need to avoid unnecessary risk”, it said.
France said earlier on Monday that it had rescued an unspecified number of Indian nationals among 388 people evacuated using two military aircraft. Saudi Arabia on Saturday said it had evacuated three Indians, along with 66 foreign nationals.
For the thousands of Indians still stuck in Sudan, simply trying to stay safe has proven to be a steep challenge, never mind travelling long distances to seek evacuation.
Among those appealing to Mr Modi’s government is Mukund M Date, a 67-year-old father seeking the safe evacuation of his 36-year-old son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Sayali stuck in Kosti, a city located 330km south of Khartoum.
“My daughter-in-law was to return to India on [15 April] when the conflict started,” he tells The Independent.
“She was to come from an Egypt Airline flight [whose] reporting time was about 7 o’clock. They both went to the airport. But they were not allowed to enter inside, saying that [the flight] was cancelled.”
Sudanese army soldiers, loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, sit atop a tank in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, on 20 April 2023
Upon learning of the flight cancellation they returned home in Khartoum, and it was then that the hostility started “immediately after”.
“There were bombardment[s] and shelling. It was a really scary situation,” he says. “One of the bombs landed near the house, three or four bungalows away. Even the water storage tanks were completely pierced by the stray bullets.
“There was no electricity, no water… internet was there but you [could not] go outside because there was continuous bombardment. Even the [food] resources were getting exhausted.”
Mr Date says his son and daughter-in-law have since moved to Kosti, and are sheltering in a facility hosted by his company. But Kosti is some 1,200km away from where the Indian Navy has its ship preparing for evacuations, in Port Sudan.
“That is my main worry. Who is going to arrange for evacuation and vehicle?” he asks, adding that he has been unable to get in touch with the couple since Sunday evening.
Abdul Haseeb, 32, returned to India from Sudan last October for a job in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, leaving behind his 23-year-old wife along with their two-year-old son.
Abdul Haseeb with his wife Baraah Abaker and two-year-old son Rafi in Sudan
His wife, Baraah Abaker, a Sudanese national, was in the final year of college at the time, so it made sense for her to wait to join him in India after completing her medical degree, he tells The Independent.
“My wife is a veterinary doctor. And it was her final semester at Bahri University. The situation was completely normal at the time.”
But circumstances on the ground have suddenly and terrifyingly changed since then.
“There is no water supply, no food, no electricity. I am not able to reach my wife. There is no internet,” says Mr Haseeb. “There is only conflict that’s raging. I am really worried. Only Allah knows about all the things I have tried to reach my wife, in the hope that she is safely evacuated.
“They do not have money or resources,” he says, expressing his exasperation about the situation on ground. “Even a rescue team with food facilities has not reached them,” he adds.
“I just want my wife and children rescued. Please help by any means possible,” he pleads.
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Sudanese army soldiers, loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, sit atop a tank in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, on 20 April 2023
AFP via Getty Images
Abdul Haseeb with his wife Baraah Abaker and two-year-old son Rafi in Sudan
Abdul Haseeb
Abhishek Date, 36 with his wife Sayali Date in Khartoum alongside the Nile river
Shreesh Date
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