'I saw people get shot and die in front of my eyes'

Ibrahim Ali Ibrahim, 37, had travelled to Sudan to visit family for the first time in nearly a decade

A Birmingham businessman has recalled the terrifying ordeal of hiding in basements without food or water to avoid warfare in Sudan.

Ibrahim Ali Ibrahim, 37, travelled to Khartoum in February to visit family, but got stuck when fighting broke out between military and militia forces this month.

For three days, he hid in abandoned buildings and moved only at night to avoid detection as he tried to escape.

By Wednesday, he managed to reach an airstrip in hope of evacuation.

Homes have been destroyed following clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in South Khartoum locality

The security firm owner had left his wife and four children at home in Birmingham for the trip - his first in nearly a decade.

On the day the conflict broke out, he had been on his way to buy a return plane ticket from a travel agency in the centre of the Sudanese capital.

"Suddenly everybody was running," he said from an airbase near Khartoum.

He added: "I saw a lot of people get shot and dying in front of my eyes, people getting injured - it was really terrible."

While trying to escape, he hid in the basements and covered himself with sheets of carboard or plywood.

"I was hiding for three days with no food, no water," he said.

"You go to the wrong road, you're going to get shot. One way you've got the army, the other you've got militia.

A military operation to evacuate British nationals from Sudan took place on Sunday

"I couldn't tell what day it is. Everywhere there is guns shooting, tanks and bombing."

His phone battery had gone flat throughout the ordeal meaning he couldn't contact his loved ones in the UK to let them know he was still alive.

The father-of-four added: "I worried a lot about not seeing my children and my wife again.

"My family was worrying and tried to call me but my battery's dead. Everybody I know was trying to call me to help me to escape."

After three days on the run, he knocked on the door of a family who took him in, gave him food and water and allowed him to charge his mobile phone.

Having contacted the British Foreign Office, Mr Ibrahim travelled to an airstrip on the outskirts of Khartoum with hopes of being flown home to the UK.

Birmingham is home to an estimated 1,000 people from Sudan according to the Office for National Statistics.

On Wednesday, the first Sudan evacuation flight landed back in the UK.

The business owner said: "I've seen a lot of bad things. I've seen injured people crying and nobody knows how to help them.

"I've seen people die in the street and nobody picks up the bodies. You could smell it everywhere."

Evacuees, believed to be British nationals, arrive at Stansted Airport on Wednesday following evacuation from Sudan

He added: "I miss my wife and children a lot. I miss everybody back home in the UK and I hope my family in Sudan are all safe. I hope the war stops soon as possible."

In the early hours of Thursday morning he confirmed he is still awaiting evacuation.

The conflict in Sudan broke out on 15 April amid a power struggle between the leaders of Sudan's regular army and rival group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The UK has now airlifted 536 people from the east African country.

However, that is a fraction of the thousands of British nationals thought to be in the country.