Stuck in apartment without food or water, wife of slain Kerala man in Sudan pleaded MEA for help

The wife of a Keralite, who was killed during the exchange of firing between paramilitary forces and the Sudanese Army in Khartoum, had made a desperate plea for help to the Ministry of External Affairs, according to Hindustan Times report.

Saibella, the wife of slain Albert Augustine, was on a holiday to join her husband in Khartoum. Augustine was all set to return home with his family on May 3.

Also Read: India sends warship, military aircraft to evacuate citizens from Sudan, but volatile situation on ground pose challenge

Augustine, an ex-serviceman, had joined a private company in Khartoum as a security officer seven months ago and was shot dead on the night of April 15, when a stray bullet hit during fighting between paramilitary forces and the army in the Sudanese capital. Augustine was shot while he was standing near the window of his flat talking to his son in the UK.

In a telephonic exchange with reporters from Khartoum, Saibella had, the next day, even said that the ambulance that had come to take the body of her husband was not allowed to remove his body as fighting was continuing in that area

She had also said that she was now staying in the basement of the flat building along with the neighbours and her daughter who is in Class 6, and had not consumed food for the past 24 hours.

Fortunately, they were later shifted to a safe place and provided food, according to the Indian Embassy in Sudan.

The Union government had said that all help will be provided to the family that hails from Kannur, in the violence-hit Sudanese capital.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said Augestine's family will be provided all necessary help and that steps are on to bring his body back to the country.

Amid the ongoing conflict in the African nation, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure the safe repatriation of Indian nationals, including those from Kerala.

Also Read: Kerala CM sends letter to Modi seeking safe repatriation of Indians from Sudan

According to official data, the number of Indians in Sudan is around 4,000, including 1,200 who have settled down in the country decades ago.

Saudi Arabia led the first reported successful evacuation with naval operations picking up more than 150 people including foreign diplomats and officials from Port Sudan on April 22.

Riyadh announced the "safe arrival" of 91 Saudi citizens and around 66 nationals from 12 other countries -- Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philipines, Canada and Burkina Faso.

The conflict in Sudan is a direct result of a vicious power struggle within the country's military leadership. The clashes are between Sudan's regular army and a paramilitary force called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

(With agency inputs)