NEW DELHI: India said on Friday it is working with authorities and international organisations in Sudan to secure the release of an Indian national captured by the anti-government Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.
Adarsh Behera, a 36-year-old resident of Odisha, was taken away by RSF fighters when the militia captured the strategic city of El Fasher last month. The RSF has issued videos showing Behera in their custody.
“One Indian national is in the custody of the RSF. As you know, there is fighting going on in the El-Fasher region,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a weekly media briefing.
“We are in contact with the Sudan government and international organisations so that the Indian national can be safely freed and we can ensure his security,” he said without giving further details.
Earlier this week, Sudanese ambassador Mohammed Abdalla Ali Eltom said that authorities in his country were in contact with Indian counterparts regarding the abduction of the Indian national by the RSF, which he described as a “bloodthirsty militia” working as a proxy for foreign powers.
Behera, who was working in Sudan for the past three years, was captured when the RSF took over El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state and the last remaining stronghold of Sudanese forces in the Darfur region, on October 26.
{{/usCountry}}Behera, who was working in Sudan for the past three years, was captured when the RSF took over El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state and the last remaining stronghold of Sudanese forces in the Darfur region, on October 26.
{{/usCountry}}“We hope that he is not harmed by the militia. The situation is unpredictable; you never know what they will do,” Eltom told reporters earlier.
The Indian embassy based in Port Sudan is closely following the situation and Sudan’s embassy in New Delhi has been in touch with the external affairs ministry and the foreign ministry in Port Sudan to secure the release of the Indian national.