Swaraj asks Indian High Commission in South Sudan to help family of Indian shot dead

[Hindustani78]

PTI
Published Feb 19, 2017, 8:49 pm IST
Updated Feb 19, 2017, 8:52 pm IST
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nati...sudan-to-help-family-of-indian-shot-dead.html

The deceased man’s family sought Sushma Swaraj's help in bringing the body back to India.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday directed the Indian High Commission in South Sudan to help the family of an Indian man shot dead there in bringing his body back to India.

"Indian High Commissioner in South Sudan – Plz contact the bereaved family and help them (sic)," Swaraj tweeted in response to an appeal for help by a man who said his cousin had been shot dead in Juba.

Syed Ejaz Hussain tweeted that his cousin Syed Farooq Basha had been shot dead in Juba, South Sudan on Saturday. He sought Swaraj's help in bringing back Basha's body to India.

Swaraj also tweeted the Indian High Commissioner in South Sudan's response, saying that the Embassy had spoken to the family of Basha and promised them all help.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...-by-rebels-in-South-Sudan/article17331267.ece

Farooq Basha first Indian victim of civil war; Swaraj responds to request for help
An Indian national, Syed Farooq Basha, was shot dead by rebel fighters in South Sudan on Saturday, diplomatic sources have confirmed.

The incident occurred some 900 km from the South Sudan capital of Juba.

“Syed Farooq Basha was driving through the disputed region of Abyei, when he was shot dead in an attack that injured his driver. This is the first casualty of an Indian in the civil war, which began last year,” said a senior source at the Indian Embassy in Juba.

Mr. Basha, who hails from Gangavati in Koppal district of Karnataka, was employed with Omaski Sai Infrastructure Co Ltd., which is involved in drilling wells for water in the region.

Abyei is an energy-rich region between Sudan and South Sudan which remains disputed. The identity of the killers of Mr Basha is not yet known though reports suggest that he was targeted by one of the rebel groups fighting the government of South Sudan.

“We have spoken to the family of Syed Farooq Basha and promised all help,” said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in a social media post, responding to requests from his family.

India launched “Operation Sankat Mochan” under the leadership of Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh, in July 2016 to evacuate nationals caught in the escalating civil war, however only 154 chose to be evacuated as hundreds remained behind as the civil war paused for a while.

A family member of Mr Basha told The Hindu from Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, that he was aware of the dangers involved but had handled it well over the last two years. “He had been staying there for more than two years and we knew of the risks. The rebels control some territory in that region and he had avoided them so far. But the incident has come as a shock for us,” said one of his relatives.

South Sudan is caught between a border dispute with its northern neighbour Sudan, and is facing an internal power battle between President Salva Kiir and former vice president Riek Machar.

 

[Hindustani78]

Syed Farook Basha | Photo Credit: U_SUBRAMANYAM

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...-Sudan-to-arrive-tomorrow/article17355898.ece
Basha was shot dead at Abyei in South Sudan last Friday
The grief-stricken family members of Syed Farook Basha, 26, Field Project Coordinator in Omaski Sai Infra Company Ltd., involved in drilling borewells, who was shot dead at Abyei in South Sudan last Friday, are eagerly awaiting the arrival of his body at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad, and then to his sister’s house in Kurnool on February 25.

A group of armed men surrounded the car in which Basha was travelling after attending the Friday prayers, and allegedly shot him dead on February 17. After his cousin, Ejaz Hussain, tweeted Union Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj seeking her assistance to bring the body to India, the Minister instructed the Indian High Commissioner in South Sudan to make arrangements. The body is presently in Abyei UNISFA camp in South Sudan.

“We were shocked on receiving a call at 3 a.m. on February 17 from Syed Peer Basha Khadri, Basha’s brother-in-law, who too works in the same company, informing about the death,” Basha’s elder sister, Syeda Ayesha, and maternal aunt, S. Syeda Banu, told The Hindu at their house in Santoshnagar in Kurnool.

Syed Peer Basha Khadri will accompany the body and it would be laid to rest in Roza Dargah at Santoshnagar in Kurnool on Saturday, they added.

Basha studied in the ZP high school and Intermediate in Medha Junior College, both at Mydukur, passed B.Sc. Computer Science from Rani Tirumala Devi Degree College at Proddatur in Kadapa district and studied M.Sc. Maths in Sri Krishnadevaraya University at Anantapur. He is the second son of Syeda Naseem Banu, a Podupu Lakshmi group head at Sainathapuram in Mydukur town in Kadapa district, her native place. His elder brother, Syed Kaleem Basha, works in Saudi Arabia and sister lives in Kurnool.

Basha, who went to Juba, capital of South Sudan, along with his brother-in-law in 2013, visited India on two months vacation every year. He came home four months ago, but was reluctant to go back to South Sudan, which was torn by civil strife, as he was a victim of mugging thrice, Ms. Syeda Banu said. He went back to South Sudan after the management representatives of his company repeatedly called him by making offers of higher emoluments and to post him at a place of his choice in Sudan, as he was supervising three to four projects, she added.

His mother, Syeda Naseem Banu, who is in a dazed condition, hardly spoke to even family members since a week, she said. She was planning to perform his marriage during his next scheduled visit in October/November this year.

 

[Hindustani78]

Edward AmbroseHANDOUT;HANDOUT
http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...ve-been-abducted-in-sudan/article17446527.ece

Relatives have petitioned the CM, External Affairs Minister
Relatives of two technicians, who were allegedly abducted by an armed gang while working in an oil installation in war-ravaged South Sudan, have sought the help of Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to ensure their early release.

‘No protective cover’

According to the relatives, B. Mithun Ganesh (25) of Vadakkankulam in Tirunelveli district and Edward Ambrose (40) of Monday Market in Kanniyakumari district, working as Well Head Operators in an oil installation at Palouch in Sudan, went in a car to fix a snag in an oil well situated about 35 km from their location on March 8.

Though technicians attending to technical snag would usually be accompanied by armed guards, considering the volatile situation prevailing in the country, the duo did not get the protective cover. Without engaging a local driver, they took the car out.

Embassy informed

“When they failed to return to the base after fixing the snag even after three hours, his superiors started searching for them. But the mobile phones and wireless sets kept by the duo remained switched off. Hence, their superiors informed the Indian Embassy in Sudan of the possible abduction of the two by an armed gang involved in the ongoing conflict at Kasab in South Sudan,” said a close relative of Mr. Mithun.


An oil rig employee, who had worked in Sudan, said that the armed groups involved in the conflict would invade colonies where foreign workers, mostly Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese, Malaysians and Sri Lankans, resided and rob them of currencies, particularly US dollars and food at gunpoint.

Ransom angle

“There were instances of killing of foreign workers during these raids, but no Tamilian has been killed so far. This abduction could be for ransom,” he said. On getting information from the employer, relatives of Mr. Mithun and Mr. Edward forwarded petitions to the Chief Minister and the External Affairs Minister, seeking their intervention to ensure the release of their breadwinners.

Radhapuram MLA I.S. Inbadurai, who met the relatives at Vadakkankulam on Friday, assured them that he would persuade the Chief Minister to contact the Ministry of External Affairs immediately for the early release of Mr. Mithun and Mr. Edward.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...rebel-group/story-QhcqicyU2F9OuketnG7PbP.html

Security forces patrol near an oilfield in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State.(Reuters File)


A South Sudanese rebel group has said it has captured two Indian oil engineers whom it claimed were working with the government.

The Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO) said it captured the engineers, identified as Ambross Edward and Muggy Vijaya Boopathy, from a new oilfield in Guelguk North in Upper Nile after fierce fighting between rebel and government forces, according to South Sudan News Agency.

SPLA-IO spokesman William Gatjiath Deng said in a statement the Indians “refused to respect repeated warnings from the military command of the armed opposition”. He claimed the engineers were working for the South Sudan government led by President Salva Kiir Mayardit and were captured on March 9.

Deng said on Saturday the two Indians will be held until a decision is made on their fate by opposition leader Riek Machar, who is in exile in South Africa.

Another opposition spokesman, Mabior Garang, said ransom or other demands are unlikely because they would be “would be inconsistent with our objectives”.

The Indian Embassy in South Sudan had no immediate comment.

The rebel group also said that its forces “disintegrated, defeated, and killed” at least 33 government soldiers in the fighting and took control of the area.

Deng said foreign oil workers should “think before they set foot in any oil production site” and that “oil companies (should) value the lives of their employees”.

Last week, the rebels had warned foreign workers to stop risking their lives in oil production sites. The rebels have also said they want to stop oil production till a peaceful solution is reached with the government.

The new oilfield in Guelguk North, located near the border with Sudan, is one of the main oil production areas and a source of revenue for the South Sudan government.

The East African country has been devastated by three years of civil war.

 

[Hindustani78]

By: Express Web Desk | New Delhi | Published:March 31, 2017 11:17 am

(Source: @SushmaSwaraj/Twitter)

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/indian-nationals-south-sudan-sushma-swaraj-4593472/

Two Indian nationals who had been abducted earlier in March by South Sudan rebels were released after the Indian government intervened in the matter. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday tweeted a photograph of the two Indians who hail from Tamil Nadu. “I am happy to inform about the release of two Indian nationals Midhun and Edward who were abducted in South Sudan,” tweeted Swaraj.

The news came to light after Production Operator at South Sudan’s Dar Petroleum Operating Company, Ajay Raja, tweeted Thursday night thanking Swaraj for her timely intervention in the matter. “Thank you @SushmaSwaraj mam for your efforts to release the two Indians Midhun and Edward in South Sudan. My friends are back. Thank you,” he wrote in his tweet. The two had been working in the Operations and Maintenance Department of the company.

The Indian engineers, Midhun Ganesh (25) and A. Edward (40), were abducted on March 8 this year while working on the field. Reports suggest that the abduction was carried out by Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO).

Meanwhile, news agency IANS reported that a Pakistani engineer employed with Dar Petroleum was also released Thursday. The Pakistani national, Ayaz Jamali, had also been abducted by a South Sudan rebel group. “We are grateful to the governments of South Sudan, China and Sudan for their cooperation and support in the successful release of Ayaz Jamali.” Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakariya posted Thursday.

The northeast African country has been in the midst of a bloody civil war prompted by the power struggle between President Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar. Close to 3 lakh people are believed to have been killed in the war with millions displaced.