Sudan unrest: India sets up control room, issues fresh advisory

As Sudanese capital Khartoum continued to witness explosions and gunfire, the Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday said that a control room has been set up to assist Indian citizens in view of the current clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the country.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said a 24X7 control room has been set up at the ministry to provide information and assistance in view of the current situation in Sudan.

The contact details of the control room are: 24x7 toll-free helpline numbers are 1800 11 8797, 91-11-23012113, 91-11-23014104, and 91-11-23017905.

Earlier, the Indian embassy in Sudan had issued a fresh advisory urging Indians not to venture out of their residences and stay calm.

On Sunday, the embassy said an Indian national died in Khartoum after sustaining bullet injuries.

''Based on the latest inputs, the fighting has not Subsided on day two. We sincerely request all fellow Indians to continue stay where they are and not venture outside,'' the mission said in its second advisory after violence broke out in Khartoum.

Grieving the death of the Indian national, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said the situation in Khartoum remains one of ''great concern'' and that India will continue to monitor the developments in that country.

At least 97 civilians have been killed in the crossfire between the two warring sides fighting it out in the densely populated urban area with heavy machine guns, tanks, artillery and airstrikes. But the toll is likely much higher because there are many bodies in the streets around central Khartoum that no one can reach because of the clashes, said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Sudan Doctors' Syndicate, which has tracked casualties. There has been no official word on the number of combatants killed.

The sudden explosion of violence over the weekend between the nation's two top generals, each backed by tens of thousands of fighters, trapped millions of people in their homes or wherever they could find shelter. For many, supplies were running out.

At least 88 students and staffers have been trapped in the engineering college library at Khartoum University since the start of fighting, one of the students said in a video posted online Monday. One student was killed by clashes outside and another wounded, he said. The group does not have food or water, he said, showing a room full of people sleeping on the floor.

The clashes are part of a power struggle between Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the commander of the armed forces, and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group.

(with PTI inputs)