After weeks of escalating tensions between the army & paramilitary on the delaying of signing an internationally supported deal, violence erupted in Sudan on April 15. Following the reports of ongoing gunfire in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, the Indian embassy in Sudan issued an advisory on April 15 urging all Indian citizens to exercise extreme caution and stay inside. But on the same day, a retired Indian soldier Albert Augustine was struck by a stray bullet as he stood close to his apartment window and died on the spot.
The victim has been identified as a Kerala native and hails from the village of Nellippara in the Kannur district.
Dal Group employed him as a security manager. The incident was reported to Albert’s family in Kannur by another Keralite who lived in Albert’s neighbourhood in Sudan.
Minister of External Affairs Jaishankar expressed his “deep grief” over the passing of the Indian national in Sudan and said that the situation is of ‘Great Concern’.
Albert Augustine called his wife and daughter to Sudan a few weeks ago to celebrate Easter with them, and he had already purchased tickets to return with them on May 3. The victim’s father in Kannur informed the media that a stray bullet struck him on Saturday, April 15, while standing next to his flat’s window and speaking to his son in the UK.
Alakode village panchayat president K M Joseph said, “Albert retired from the Indian Army six years back.
Last year, he went to Sudan to work as a security chief in a firm. Two weeks back, his wife Sybella, along with their daughter, a school student, had gone to Sudan to join the husband for a short vacation”.
Joseph, citing information from Sudan, claimed that because of the intense exchange of gunfire, local people could not go to the premises where stray bullets killed Albert. He said, “We were told that there was an instruction to the people not to venture out of their premises due to the internal strife. Albert was hit by the bullet when he tried to open the window to make a call to his son, who studies in the UK”.
While with Albert at the time, his wife and daughter managed to flee without getting wounded and retreated into a bunker beneath the apartment. According to information obtained from the Indian Embassy in Sudan and the business Albert worked for, they were later relocated to a secure location and given food, his father claimed. Due to the continuous military conflict in the area, the body could only be transported to a nearby hospital in Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan, after more than 24 hours.
On April 16, a distraught Sybella texted her relatives in Kannur an audio tape of her appealing assistance. In the audio clip, Sybella said, “It is almost 24 hours after the mishap. The body could not be moved out as there was no ambulance. Last night, my daughter and I were in the room of a colleague of my husband. As even that room is not safe, we have moved to the basement of the apartment. We are totally helpless and so far, no local contacts or help could reach us. Please help us.”
On April 16, V Muraleedharan, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, stated that Albert’s family would receive all required assistance. He continued by saying that preparations were being made to bring his body home. KPCC Chairman K Sudhakaran wrote to Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar requesting urgent action to get Mr Augustine’s body back to India.
There have reportedly been explosions and clashes in several parts of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, against rising hostilities between a paramilitary organisation and the Sudanese army and the Indian mission in Sudan, has already issued an advisory.
According to government data, about 4,000 Indians are living in Sudan, including 1,200 who moved there decades ago.
Following a coup in October 2021, Sudan’s military-controlled the nation through a sovereign council. The army and the paramilitary have clashed over a suggested timetable for transferring control to a civilian Government.
