Bhubaneswar: The Sudanese government is coordinating with India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to secure the release 36-year-old Adarsh Behera of Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district, kidnapped by the rebel paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the war-torn Al Fashir city.
“We have been in close contact with India’s Ministry of External Affairs ever since reports emerged about the Indian national who was captured. Even before that, during the siege of one of the Sudanese cities, the Ministry had reached out to us about another Indian citizen there, who endured very difficult conditions during those 500 days,” Sudan’s Ambassador to India, Mohammed Abdalla Ali Eltom, told PTI.
Describing the situation as “very unpredictable”, Eltom further noted: “We pray that they keep him safe. This militia is notorious for the atrocities it can commit, but we hope they ensure he remains unharmed.”
He affirmed that Khartoum would extend all possible assistance to New Delhi. “We are ready to play any role in ensuring his safe return to India and will cooperate with the Indian authorities,” he added.
The abduction
Behera has been taken hostage by RSF, a paramilitary force previously operated by the Sudanese government. Since 2023, Sudan is in the middle of a civil war which broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and RSF. Violent clashes and devastating conflict resulted in around 13 million people being displaced from their homes, capital Khartoum bearing the brunt.
He is believed to have been taken to Nyala, an RSF stronghold in South Darfur, around 1,000 km from Khartoum.
Family appeals for help
Behera hails from Kotakana village under Tirtol police limits and had been working at Sukarati Plastic Factory in Sudan since 2022 to support his wife and two young children, aged nine and four, back home.
The company had reportedly suspended operations for several weeks due to deteriorating security conditions. However, about a week ago, Behera was allegedly asked by his employer to visit the office premises for routine work. It was during this visit that he was abducted by armed rebels.
In a video which his family shared with NDTV, he was seen sitting on the floor with folded hands, pleading into the camera, “I am here in Al Fashir where the situation is very bad. I have been living here for two years with great difficulty. My family and children are very worried. I request the state (Odisha) government to help me.”
In another video shared on social media, Behera’s father Kshetramohan Behera and wife Sasmita Behera can also be seen desperately pleading for assistance. “Adarsha is my only son. He has two little children, aged nine and four. He is the sole breadwinner of our family. I request the government to take urgent steps for his release,” said Kshetramohan.
A tearful Sasmita added, “My husband has nothing to do with Sudan’s internal conflict. He went there only to earn a livelihood for us. I appeal to the RSF to release him on humanitarian grounds. He is an ordinary worker with no political connections.”