The family of a Scots mum trapped in Sudan with her kids have begged for help as fierce fighting rages on.
Jennifer McLellan, 36, is struggling to stay in contact with her frantic loved ones at home on Islay in the Inner Hebrides as she hunkers down with her husband and four children near capital Khartoum with the sound of gunfire closing in.
The English teacher was last known to be in a house in the suburb of Aj Jaraf after fleeing fighting sparked by a vicious power struggle between the Sudanese Army and a powerful paramilitary force which has killed hundreds and injured thousands.
And with the family running low on food and unable to access cash or fuel to escape, their loved ones are fearing for their safety.
Jennifer’s uncle Donald Gillies, 59, told the Record: “We need someone to go and get them out. They need boots on the ground. They need humanitarian help.
“My sister is in bits and is sick with worry. They’re all struggling to speak about it because they are so worried.
“It’s the not knowing. ”
The fighting between the army and RSF has led to violence across Sudan for more than a week
A growing list of countries have evacuated diplomats and citizens from Sudan’s capital with the US and UK announcing they had flown diplomats out of the country at the weekend, along with France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
The UK government said it had managed to airlift diplomats and their families out of the country in a “complex and rapid” operation.
Foreign Minister James Cleverly said options to evacuate the remaining nationals in Sudan were “severely limited”.
Jennifer has been living in Sudan for around 15 years after meeting her Sudanese husband when he was studying in Glasgow.
The couple had two boys and two girls, aged between two and 15, and Jennifer got a job teaching English at a University.
But the family’s lives were turned upside down when a heavy bombardment began in the capital in recent days.
Bombing and shooting has cut electricity and safe access to food and water for much of the population.
Convoys of United Nations vehicles have been leaving Khartoum in recent days heading east towards Port Sudan on the Red Sea but the family have not been able to leave.
Donald made contact with Jennifer on Monday after power blackouts cut all communication with the family for several hours.
He said: “She is literally stuck where she is.
“She managed to get in contact with me on Facebook and said they had managed to get some food and on Sunday but now all the fuel has gone and the banking is down they can’t get anything. They’re left in a pretty dire situation.
“It’s 24 hours to drive to Egypt and they’ve no fuel so it’s not going to happen.
“Their best bet is trying to get in a convoy into Egypt but most of these buses have gone now. It will be hard for them to move across country safely.
“The wee ones thought the guns going off were popping balloons. Jennifer will not move out the house with the kids now. Her husband, Mo, will be going out looking for food.
“There’s going to be a massive humanitarian issue here for everybody. Jennifer is just one in a long line of people stuck in a terrible situation.
“She and the children have been registered with the Foreign Office and they have their address of where they were last night, but no one has been in touch.”
Meanwhile, the family have arranged a safe place to stay for the family in Egypt if they can get out of Sudan.
Donald said: “I told her to conserve energy and start rationing and just hunker down and try and rest as much as they can. They don’t now whether they are going to have to get out and walk.
“The malitia are very close to them. With these two factions fighting and resources depleting they will start clearing houses.”
The World Health Organization said more than 400 people have been killed and thousands injured. But the death toll is believed to be much higher as people are struggling to get healthcare, as most of the city’s hospitals have been forced to close by the fighting.
The UN said up to 20,000 people - mostly women and children - had so far fled Sudan to seek safety across the border from Darfur.
A Government spokesperson said: “The safety of all British nationals in Sudan continues to be our utmost priority. We recognise that this is an extremely worrying and distressing situation for those trapped by the fighting.
“We are urgently exploring all routes for British nationals to leave Sudan should they wish to.
“Our advice to British nationals continues to be to stay indoors wherever possible and contact the Foreign Office to register your local and contact details.”
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