She is sitting on the mattress on the floor under the stairs. The body is full of adrenaline. Her heart rate is constantly high. A mobile charger, a small black fan, a drink bottle, a laptop, an evacuation bag. The essentials are right next to her. Up by the railing, the 31-year-old Norwegian diplomat from Harstad has hung freshly washed clothes to dry. She is sitting here with her friend Nicky, who works for the UN. Siri Birkeland has traveled to Sudan for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She has worked as an embassy secretary for eight months. This is her first stay abroad. But instead of relaxing over the weekend, she has sat alert and heard the sound of gunfire, fighting and bombers. Siri Birkeland filmed from the mattress on her living room floor in Khartoum. The nearby airport was the target of the bombing in Sudan in April. – That was hard. I had to work mentally not to let my thoughts escalate and think the worst-case scenario, says Birkeland. The two friends do not dare to walk around the house. The stairs protect them, at least a little, should a rocket hit the building. Siri Birkeland had to rush into the kitchen to get food, before taking it back under the stairs, which was the safest place in her house when the fighting in Sudan was going on. Here she has found her mother’s homemade Christmas cake from Norway. Photo: Privat Because the bombs fall on the airport nearby. They are only three blocks away. She has placed furniture in front of the windows, black cushions against the glass. Windows can turn into razor-sharp flying knives when they explode, she knows. Outside, the black smoke from burning jet fuel will soon fill the air. It is far too late to evacuate now. Men with machine guns, from the paramilitary group RSF, have been standing outside the gate to the residential area for a day already. – Fighter planes flew over and carpet bombed my whole neighbourhood, says Birkeland. The two friends have no idea how long they have to sit there. Siri Birkeland lived just three blocks from the airport in Khartoum, which was bombed by fighter jets when the war between paramilitaries and the army broke out. Photo: AFP / AFP In one of the worst areas It has almost been two months since the last Norwegian diplomats were evacuated from Sudan. For the first time, embassy secretary Siri Birkeland tells about the dramatic days when she and a friend were “trapped” in the home while the war raged outside. – What is important to us is that Sudan is not forgotten, says Siri Birkeland. She will travel to one of Sudan’s neighboring countries and resume work from a temporary embassy in a few weeks. Photo: Anders Tvegård After the government army and the RSF militia started the war against each other on 15 April this year, more than 3,000 people have been killed, according to the UN. Over 6,000 are injured. 2.2 million Sudanese are internally displaced, many caught up in hostilities. – What is important to us is that Sudan is not forgotten, says Siri Birkeland in Oslo. In the capital Khartoum, everything from homes and buildings is looted, she says. At the largest orphanage, the infants died of hunger every day because employees were “trapped” in their own homes. – We were in the middle of the hardest hit areas, close to the airport and close to the military headquarters, says Birkeland, who will be traveling back to Africa in a few weeks. In one of Sudan’s neighboring countries, the diplomats will resume work with Sudan at a temporary embassy. – What we are working for now is to get a ceasefire in order to bring in humanitarian aid to the civilians, she says. – They have run out of water, food, medicine, fuel. We are very worried. There is still fighting in Khartoum, but also in Darfur. The smoke is heavy over the Nile and Sudan’s capital Khartoum after bombs have fallen. Photo: ABDELMONEIM SAYED / AFP Dramatic days A large crisis team in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Oslo worked continuously to get the Norwegian diplomats out of the country. Birkeland sees the many familiar faces at team meetings twice a day. On the first day, Siri Birkeland barricaded herself behind furniture in the living room. From day two she stayed under the stairs. Photo: Privat Together with their friend, they take a quick shower while there is a break in the worst fighting. Nicky actually lives somewhere else, but sought refuge with Birkeland after the shooting began. Had she gone home, she would have met the armed soldiers who took her home the next day. The two friends cook and try to drink enough water. They follow videos of destruction from their hometown on Twitter. On day four, they hear shots hitting the third floor of the building. – You have to choose to think that it will go well. I knew that we had a huge device at home that worked night and day for us to get out and be safe, she says. Birkeland plays the video she took during the bombing in Sudan. It helps to show off the material to friends and acquaintances. – It is not so easy for others to imagine what it was like when I say that I sat under the stairs for five days, she says. Photo: Anders Tvegård Volunteers assisted in the evacuation After being trapped for five days in their own home, civilians come to Siri Birkeland’s door. A coordinated rescue operation has been launched. – “It is safe to get into the cars”, they say. Across the city, volunteers have signed up to transport foreigners to safety in their own cars. Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (left) and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, called “Hemedti”, in the RSF. Photo: ASHRAF SHAZLY / AFP – But it was not without risks. We were stopped at several checkpoints along the road, she says, and continues: – We were asked what we were going to do, whether we were spies, why we were leaving the area. They wanted to take our valuables and threatened us in several ways. But luckily our drivers managed to calm them down. They said we were sick and needed medical attention, says Birkeland. This is how they get past the armed men. A few days later, Birkeland can breathe a sigh of relief on a flight back to Norway. The rescue operation that saved her life was a collaboration between Norway and other countries. For the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the evacuation was one of the most demanding of all time. Several countries managed to evacuate their citizens from Sudan when the war between the army and the paramilitaries broke out. The picture shows the last aircraft of the British RAF, packed with Britons. Photo: ARRON HOARE / REUTERS Chased out of their homes Back in Sudan lies a complete crisis. Infrastructure, hospitals, schools, roads and airports are completely destroyed. Civilians have suffered enormous losses. – You can only imagine what it is like for those who are left behind. We were there for eight days before we got out, but there are people who are still living in it, two months later, says the 31-year-old. Facts about the paramilitary group RSF This is the paramilitary group “Rapid Support Forces” (RSF) which has been in heavy fighting with government forces in Sudan since Saturday 22 April 2023. A paramilitary group that was founded in August 2013 and fought on behalf of Sudan in Darfur. Is accused of several war crimes in Darfur, including the murder and rape of civilians and the burning of civilian houses. According to Human Rights Watch, RSF’s actions in Darfur qualify as crimes against humanity. Has been a supporter of the military junta that has seized power in the country, and negotiations were underway for the group to be incorporated into the regular army. The group’s Arabic name can be directly translated to Rapid Support Forces, or as they are called in English: Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The group is led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, called Hemedti. The group has also fought in Libya and Yemen. Hemedti is now one of the richest people in Sudan after taking control of gold mines in Darfur, which he is accused of using the RSF to do. Source: Wikipedia, HRW.
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Embassy secretary Siri Birkeland (31) was caught in war-torn Sudan – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
