New Delhi: The Indian embassy on Sunday announced that an Indian national has died in the intense shooting that has broken out in a power struggle in the Sudanese capital Khartoum between the army and paramilitary force.
Through a tweet, the Indian mission said that Albert Augustine, an Indian national working with Dal Group, Sudan’s largest conglomerate, had died from injuries from a “stray bullet”.
“Embassy is in touch with family and medical authorities to make further arrangements,” said the tweet.
According to the Indian Express, 48-year-old Augustine, a native of Nellipara village in Kerala, had retired from the Indian Army and was working as security manager for the Dal Group since 2022.
The Express quoted the head of Alakode panchayat, which administers Nellipara, as saying that Augustine had been hit when he opened a window in his residence to make a phone call to his eldest son studying in the UK. His wife and daughter had recently joined him in Sudan for a short holiday.
K.M. Joseph, Alakode panchayat chief, said that local people were not able to go to the premises where Augustine was residing due to the heavy firing. “We were told that there was an instruction to the people not to venture out of their premises due to the internal strife,” he told the newspaper.
The Indian embassy had given two advisories on Saturday for Indians in Sudan to “take utmost precautions, stay indoors and stop venturing outside with immediate effect”.
External affairs minister S. Jaishankar said that he was “deeply grieved” by the death of the Indian national.
“The situation in Khartoum remains one of great concern. We will continue to monitor developments,” he tweeted.
Deeply grieved to learn about the death of an Indian national in Khartoum. The Embassy is making all efforts to extend fullest assistance to the family.
The situation in Khartoum remains one of great concern. We will continue to monitor developments. https://t.co/GJ9iFowLwu
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 16, 2023
According to the Indian embassy, the Indian community in Sudan is around 4,000-strong, which includes around 1,200 persons of Indian origin whose families have been in the North African country for about 150 years.
The fighting between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) broke out on Saturday, with doctors estimating a toll of at least 56 civilians and around 600 injured.
In April 2019, Sudan’s military chief Abdel-Fattah Burhan ousted the longstanding ruler Omar al-Bashir. However, after 18 months, the military and the RSF carried out another coup, disrupting the country’s path towards civilian rule.
What began as a disagreement between Burhan and RSF head General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo over the integration of RSF into the regular army has escalated into an overt conflict
According to Mohamed Amin, a journalist presently based in Khartoum, the clashes persisted on Sunday, and the situation was more hostile than the previous day, with the armed forces headquarters being bombarded heavily.
Amin further told Deutsche Welle that the military and the RSF were both claiming authority over the critical establishment, with air raids and artillery assaults being directed at it. Furthermore, most parts of the capital city were without electricity.
Amin stated that the sounds of gunfire and explosions could be heard throughout Khartoum, and the international airport remained closed for the second consecutive day
Both sides are claiming control of key infrastructure installations, including the airport.
According to the UN, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to both Burhan and Dagalo, calling for an immediate end to violence and a return to dialogue.
and to RSF Leader Lt. General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, calling for an immediate stop to the violence and a return to dialogue.
He offered his good offices, in close co-ordination with ongoing efforts, to restore security and conclude the ongoing political process.
2 of 2
— UN Spokesperson (@UN_Spokesperson) April 15, 2023
According to The New York Times, the UN security council issued a press statement on the breakout of violence in Sudan and urged all sides to restart talks.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke with Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud and UAE foreign minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nayhan over the fighting in Sudan on Saturday. The US State Department said that the three of them agreed that it was “essential for the parties to immediately end hostilities without pre-condition”.