Sudan conflict: 'I trembled whenever I heard gunshots, explosions' - Malaysian student
28 Apr 2023 10:28pm
30 Malaysians who were safely evacuated from Sudan arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport today. - Pic: BERNAMA
Abdul Rahman, 25, was among the 30 Malaysians rescued in Ops Sudan and arrived safely at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) via Saudi Arabian Airlines flight SV834 at about 3 pm.
Speaking to the media here today, he said this was his first experience of being in a country in conflict, and he trembled whenever he heard gunshots and bomb explosions.
"At times the situation was okay and sometimes it turned bad. At the time, I was having second thoughts about returning home because I wanted to finish my studies.
"But when the Malaysian Embassy was hit by stray bullets, I decided to return because I could see no end to the situation in Sudan," said Abdul Rahman, who still looked tired after travelling for over 30 hours from Khartoum to Port Sudan before being evacuated to Jeddah.
The armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out in Khartoum and the surrounding area on April 15, and has so far claimed the lives of more than 400 people, with 3,500 reported injured.
Abdul Rahman said since the conflict began, Internet coverage had been poor and he had not been able to contact his family members.
"On our way from Khartoum to Port Sudan there were many inter-district roadblocks set up by the army, and at the time, I just left it up to God because the shootings were still going on," said the Selangor native.
He said there were still soldiers around when they arrived at Port Sudan, but the shootings were not as intense as in Khartoum.
Abdul Rahman said that although the situation in Sudan looked bleak at present, he would pray that everything would gradually improve because he intended to continue his studies there.
He also felt sorry for his friends in Sudan and worried for their safety as they could not be contacted.
Meanwhile, Petronas employee Azim Rosli said he was supposed to return to Malaysia on April 18 for the tail end of Ramadan, but was unable to do so when the conflict broke out three days prior.
"The situation this time is considered bad, although there had been shooting incidents prior to this in 2021 (Sudan coup), but this time, I was unsure as to when the situation would stabilise," said Azim, who has been working in Sudan for three years.
The Kelantan native said that since the conflict broke out on April 15, he had trouble sleeping as he was worried about being hit by a stray bullet.
He said the Petronas Complex had been captured by the RSF to be used as an observation point due to the building's height.
Azim said that before the incident, the Malaysian Embassy had informed them to prepare enough food as the conflict could break out at any moment.
Meanwhile, Amirul Husni Sahar, the first secretary of the Malaysian Embassy in Sudan said the decision to gather all Malaysians was made following the escalation of the conflict.
"It (conflict) doesn't involve or threaten foreigners but ‘bullets have no names on them’. The decision was made for all Malaysians to gather, in order to avoid any untoward incident," he said, adding that the embassy was located within the area of conflict.
Amirul Husni, 38, and his family were transferred from the Malaysian Embassy in Riyadh to the Malaysian Embassy in Khartoum in January. - BERNAMA
