Stuck in apartment without food and water, wife of Malayali man killed in Sudan seeks help

Khartoum (Sudan): The wife of Albert Augustine, the Malayali security officer who was killed during the civil unrest almost a week ago, reached out for help saying she is stuck without water or food.

Albert's wife Saibella and daughter Marita are in the same apartment where he was killed by a stray bullet while talking to his son on phone sitting near a window.

All the other foreign nationals from her building have been rescued by their respective countries, she told Manorama News over the phone. Earlier, the Indian government had announced that it is preparing to bring back its citizens. However, the date or time of the mission is not clear yet.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia on Saturday said the kingdom has successfully evacuated 157 people, including 91 Saudi nationals and citizens of other countries, reported Manorama News.

Saudi state TV released footage of a large convoy of Saudis and other foreign nationals travelling by car and bus from Khartoum to Port Sudan, where a navy ship then ferried the evacuees across the Red Sea to the Saudi port of Jeddah.

Violence despite truce
Fighting raged in Omdurman in Sudan, the city across the Nile from the country's capital Khartoum, residents reported. The violence came despite a declared truce that was to coincide with the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Thick black smoke filled the sky over Khartoum's airport. The paramilitary group battling the Sudanese armed forces claimed the military unleashed airstrikes on the upscale neighbourhood of Kafouri, north of Khartoum. There was no immediate comment from the army.

After a week of bloody battles that hindered rescue efforts, US special forces swiftly evacuated some 70 US embassy staffers from Khartoum to an undisclosed location in Ethiopia early Sunday.

Although American officials said it was still too dangerous to carry out a government-coordinated mass evacuation of private citizens, other countries scrambled to evacuate their citizens and diplomats.

Fight paralyses airport
The fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the powerful paramilitary group, known as the Rapid Support Forces, has targeted and paralysed the country's main international airport, reducing many civilian aircraft to ruins and gutting at least one runway.

Other airports across the country have also been knocked out of operation. Travel across areas contested by the warring parties has proven dangerous. Khartoum is some 840 km from Port Sudan on the Red Sea.