Mrs Alaweya Rishwan, wife of British citizen Abdalla Sholgami, died of starvation at her home in the Sudanese capital because she had not received evacuation assistance despite living close to the British embassy.
Abdalla Sholgami, 85, who owns a London hotel, lives with Alawya Rishwan, his 80-year-old disabled wife, near the British embassy in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital. However, they were not supported, but had to find their own way to an airport on the outskirts of Khartoum to board an evacuation flight, Sholgami’s family said on May 26.
British nationals and others were asked to leave Sudan after fighting broke out on 15 April between the army led by General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Force (RSF) commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. To get to the airport, Sholgami will have to cross the war zone between the two factions.
Black smoke rises from Khartoum International Airport on April 20. Photo: AFP
No food, no water, Sholgami was forced to leave his wife at home to go out in search of help. On the way, he was shot three times by snipers, but survived after being taken to relatives in Khartoum.
The family said Alawaya Rishwan had to fend for herself because the house she was being held in was in an area surrounded by snipers. The disabled woman starved to death because she had not been taken care of for several days.
Azhaar, Sholgami’s grandson, who grew up in Khartoum, said the British embassy was “a stone’s throw away” from his grandparents’ home. Azhaar criticized the British embassy for not preventing the tragedy from happening to his grandparents.
In Khartoum, Sholgami’s son had his father’s bullet surgically removed without anesthesia. Mr. Sholgami was then transferred to Egypt for further treatment.
The UK Foreign Office said the operation to evacuate citizens of Sudan had “successfully ended” on May 3, with more than 2,450 people being transported abroad on 30 flights, mostly British nationals and dependents. The agency hailed it as the “longest and largest” evacuation of any Western country.
“Sholgami’s case is extremely regrettable. The ongoing military conflict means our ability to help is severely limited and we cannot directly help every person in Sudan,” the spokesperson said.
Since the conflict began, nearly 1.1 million Sudanese have been displaced or fled abroad. The World Health Organization (WHO) said at least 705 people had been killed and 5,287 wounded in the fighting, but warned that actual casualties could be higher.
Fighting between the army and the RSF also left Sudan in a state of law and order, and looting increased. The people’s stocks of food, money and necessities are increasingly depleted, while many embassies and foreign diplomatic missions in Sudan have been attacked.
Hong Hanh (according to the Guardian)
