A London doctor whose relatives are among an estimated 4,000 Britons stuck in war-torn Sudan has made a heartfelt plea for the UK government to take urgent action.
Dr Shaza Faycal’s young children, brother and mother are stuck in Khartoum after travelling there for a holiday to celebrate Eid.
Around 71 Sudanese NHS doctors, half believed to be British nationals, are also currently trapped in the East African country because of the conflict.
Ms Faycal, a trustee of the Sudanese Junior Doctors Association UK who works at Hampstead’s Royal Free Hospital, said she was “quite stressed”, adding: “It’s literally war happening there.
“What we would like to see is all NHS doctors who are trapped there with their families to be evacuated, as a priority.”
Abdalla Sholgami, 85, a retired businessman from north London, and his wife Alaweya Rishwan, 79, are trapped in their home opposite the British embassy in central Khartoum.
Granddaughter Azhar Sholgami said the couple were already running low on food and water when they were last in contact five days ago.
Ms Sholgami claimed the embassy had been alerted to their plight but hasn’t shown any “effort or serious concern”.
Londoner Rozan Ahmed, a British-Sudanese woman stuck in Khartoum since travelling to the country to attend her cousin’s funeral nine days ago, said there had been no communication from the British embassy about being evacuated.
“I have been hiding under my bed for the last six hours, the area where I stay has been shelled to shreds,” she told Sky News.
“I have heard nothing but explosions and gunfire for the past six hours. On top of that we have to deal with the fact that there are rogue soldiers walking around our streets, randomly raiding our homes, and then we don’t have water.
“This has been the most harrowing experience of my life and my only focus right now is to get to my mother, who is probably more pained than I am.”
British physician and television presenter Javid Abdelmoneim spoke of his fears for his father who was told to “stay put”. Mr Abdelmoneim, from Kensington and Chelsea, works with the World Health Organisation in Malawi.
He said: “The UK government told my dad to stay put. And they told my sister he’s high on an evacuation list.
“All the while, they’ve evacuated embassy staff overnight in secrecy. The consulate is now shut and you’re on your own.”
