A Scottish family of six who are currently stranded in Sudan, including four children, must leave their home today, with or without help from the UK government. Jennifer McLellan is awaiting contact from officials as the UK begins a “large-scale” evacuation of British people from the country. But her uncle, Donald Gillies, said they have a back-up plan so they can escape within the next 24 hours. Rival military factions agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire from Monday night. At least 400 people have been killed in fighting since 15 April.
Mr. Gillies criticized the UK government’s response to the crisis as “shameful” and said it had been jolted into action by media coverage. Around 4,000 UK citizens are thought to be in Sudan and 2,000 of them have already requested help, Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell said on Monday. Only British passport holders and their immediate family with existing UK entry clearance are eligible for evacuation.
Romisa Albashir told Good Morning Scotland her family in Sudan had experienced the full horror of the conflict. Ms Albashir, who lives in Aberdeen, said: “A friend of my uncle’s a few days ago, for example, was going in to the one hospital that was still open. He was going in for dialysis. He got shot dead in the hospital. This is someone I have known since I was a wee girl. That’s the situation they are living in.”
The power struggle between Sudan’s regular army and a powerful paramilitary force has led to violence across the country for more than a week. Electricity is scarce and food and water supplies are running out for many. The UK government evacuated embassy staff in an operation at the weekend.
Source: BBC
