Conflict in Sudan: A sniper shot a British man stranded in Sudan before his wife starved to death

An 85-year-old British citizen was shot in Sudan before his wife starved to death after staying in the country.

The family of Abdalla Sholgami and his wife Alaweya Rishwan, 80, who has a disability, said that despite repeatedly asking the UK government for direct help, they were directed to cross a war zone to board a evacuation fight in Khartoum.

The family told the BBC they contacted the UK Foreign Office hotline and that the government has done nothing to support them since the last evacuation flight left earlier this month.

The Foreign Office told the BBC the case was “extremely sad”.

“The ongoing military conflict means that Sudan remains dangerous.

“The UK is taking a leading role in diplomatic efforts to secure peace in Sudan.”

The Foreign Ministry said the ability to provide consular assistance is “extremely limited” and it cannot provide support in person in Sudan.

The family said that as Mr. Sholgami and his wife faced starvation, he was forced to leave to seek help where snipers shot him three times, then left his wife on the property, which was surrounded by snipers, where she died. .

Sholgami has escaped from Sudan to safety in Egypt.

The UK government has evacuated more than 2,300 people from Sudan on 28 flights since fighting began in April.

Fighting between Sudan’s army and a powerful paramilitary force has displaced more than 1.3 million people, the UN migration agency said on Wednesday.

The International Organization for Migration said the fighting has forced more than a million people to leave their homes for safer areas inside Sudan.

Some 320,000 more people have fled to neighboring Egypt, South Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, the Central African Republic and Libya.

The fighting began on April 15 after months of escalating tensions between the army, led by General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.