Indian Embassy in Sudan issues precautionary advisory for Indian nationals against venturing out, suggest rationing supplies
Apr 18, 2023
Khartoum [Sudan], April 18 : The Indian Embassy in Sudan on Tuesday issued a precautionary advisory for Indian citizens against venturing out, suggesting to ration supplies as the "situation may continue for a few more days."
"We have come across many instances of looting. All Indian nationals are advised please not to venture out. Please ration your supplies. The situation may continue for a few more days. Please try to take help from your neighbours. Please stay at home and remain safe," tweeted the Embassy of India in Khartoum.
On Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs, in view of the current clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), set up a Control Room to provide information and assistance to Indians.
"In view of the current situation in Sudan, a Control Room has been set up at the Ministry of External Affairs to provide information and assistance," read the MEA press release.
On Sunday an Indian national working in a Dal Group Company in Sudan's Khartoum was hit by a stray bullet.
Sharing details about the deceased Indian national, Indian Embassy in Sudan tweeted, " It has been reported that Mr Albert Augestine, an Indian National working in a Dal Group Company in Sudan who got hit by a stray bullet yesterday succumbed to his injuries. The embassy is in touch with family and medical authorities to make further arrangements."
As many as 180 civilians have been killed while more than 1,800 civilians and combatants have been injured in fighting between Sudan's military and the country's main paramilitary force, according to the United Nations envoy to Sudan, Volker Perthes, The New York Times reported.
According to NYT, the fighting has left many of the five million residents of the capital, Khartoum, stranded at home without electricity or water as they marked the last few days of Ramzan, the Muslim holy month when many fast daily from dawn until dusk.
A European Union ambassador was assaulted by the members of the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group inside his residence in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan on Monday afternoon, two Western officials said, according to a New York Times report.
The EU's ambassador to Sudan, Aidan O'Hara, is a diplomat from Ireland, and was not injured after armed men barged in, threatened him at gunpoint and stole money, said the officials on the condition of anonymity for security reasons, reported New York Times.
The military has been in charge of Sudan since a 2021 coup that derailed the country's path to democracy.
The armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been competing for power as political factions negotiate on forming a transitional government after a 2021 military coup.
The tensions stem from a disagreement between the military, headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, about how the paramilitary force should be integrated into the armed forces and what authority should oversee that process, according to Al Jazeera.
18 months after its coup, the military promised to cede control to a civilian-led government this month. Yet, the process has been dominated by a rivalry between General al-Burhan and General Hamdan, also known as Hemeti.
The two generals have been openly criticising one another in speeches over the past few months. They have dispatched reinforcements and armoured vehicles to oppose military camps spread around the city.