Safely home from Sudan conflict

Happy reunion: Juliana and Mohamad look on as their mother Junaidah is greeted by their brother Ahmad at KLIA. — Bernama

SEPANG: A Malaysian woman who has arrived home safely following the Sudan conflict recounted the harrowing times of hearing the sound of gunfire, besides having to go through roadblocks mounted by the army.

Junaidah Selamat , 49, said that on April 15, her husband came home after picking up their children from school and told her that there was going to be a war.

“To me, that is normal because there is always a demonstration in Sudan.

“But on April 16, when we woke up for the Fajr prayer, we heard the sound of gunfire and shots from tanks, with bullets entering our house,” said the mother of four.

She said the situation worsened as there was no electricity supply and problems getting food and other essential items, especially drinking water, as they were no longer sold, forcing some people to break into shops and houses to steal them.

Public buildings such as schools were also used as military bases, she said.

“If you go out and buy food, you will be stopped by soldiers telling you to turn back. If you don’t listen, you will be shot,” she said.

Junaidah arrived here yesterday with her son Mohamad Ashraf, 18, and daughter Juliana Ashraf, 23. They were trapped in the Al Gaza region for 22 days due to the conflict.

They touched down at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) via Saudia flight SV842 which landed at 4.15am. (Her other two children are in Malaysia.)

However, her husband, Sudanese citizen Ashraf Gasim Elsimd, is stranded in Port Sudan because he does not have a Saudi Arabian resident pass.

“He is now in Port Sudan and Alhamdulillah, he is safe as he is now out of Khartoum, although the situation is still tense. I hope his passage to Malaysia will be made easy so that we can be reunited,” she told reporters at KLIA, Bernama reported.

The family was greeted on arrival by Wisma Putra officials.

The armed conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that broke out in Khartoum and the surrounding area on April 15 has killed more than 500 people, with about 5,000 people injured.

An estimated 100,000 residents have fled to neighbouring countries.

Junaidah, who is from Jeram, Selangor, said she received information from her sister in Malaysia that Wisma Putra was evacuating Malaysians from Sudan.

“But I didn’t get a call because I was not registered with the Malaysian Embassy in Khartoum. It was my son in Malaysia, Ahmad Ashraf, 25, who informed Wisma Putra and was given a contact number in Sudan.

“Three days later, the Malaysian Embassy in Sudan responded to my email,” she said, adding that she was then told to go to Port Sudan.

She said the journey was terrifying as there were roadblocks everywhere mounted by the army, but they were able to pass through as they had the necessary documents.

Junaidah thanked the staff at the Malaysian Embassy in Sudan, the Malaysian Consulate General in Jeddah, the government of Saudi Arabia, the Pakistani Embassy in Sudan and all who helped her.