Brit shot, wife dies of starvation as UK embassy in Sudan fails to evacuate couple living just across road

In a disheartening state of affairs, Alaweya Rishwan, the disabled wife of an 85-year-old Brit died of starvation when the UK embassy in Sudan failed to rescue the family even though they lived just across the road and had contacted the mission multiple times calling for help, as per reports.

The London hotel owner Abdalla Sholgami and hiswife apparently requested the UK embassy in Sudan to fly them to the airfield from where the evacuation flights were departing.

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Not only the embassy did not provide any help to the couple, but it also urged them to make it to the airfield on their own. The airfield, as per reports, was 40km (25 miles) outside Khartou, the capital city that has seen intense fighting in the recent past as the rival factions, the Sudanese army and the paramilitary forces, remain engaged in a power struggle.

Even since the conflict broke out on 15 April, the family started making calls to the embassy for support in evacuation. Their calls went unheard as Britain's Army and Royal Air Force continued with the evacuation of the UK's diplomatic staff from conflict-ridden Sudan.

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When the situation saw no change and Sholgami's wife was starving and had no water to drink, the husband had to make a decision to go find help for her. But instead of finding help, he came under gunfire and was shot a total of three times. After being takento a family member's house in another part of Khartoum, Sholgami survived however the sniper shooting inflictedhim with injuries on his hand, chest, and lower back.

The family continued to seek support from the UK embassy but unfortunately, Sholgami's wife was found dead by an official from a Turkish embassy and her body still remains at the house.

Sholgami's granddaughter, Azhaar, said, "I was informed they had 100 troops who came and evacuated their staff. They could not cross the road? I'm still very disappointed in them."

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"What happened to my grandparents was a crime against humanity, not only by the RSF, not only by the [Sudanese army], but by the British embassy, because they were the only ones that could have prevented this from happening to my grandparents," Azhaar told BBC.

'Extremely sad', says UK embassy

The UK embassy told BBC that the demise was "extremely sad". "Our ability to provide consular assistance is severely limited and we cannot provide in-person support within Sudan," it added.

The rival factions in Sudan continue to clash despite the ceasefire in the capital city of Khartoum, on Wednesday (May 24), reported Reuters citing residents. This comes amid fears that the fighting could break the fragile United States-Saudi Arabia brokered weeklong ceasefire deal. Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration (IMO) said that more than a million people have been displaced within the country since the fighting began over a month ago.

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