An 85-year-old British national was shot dead by snipers and his 80-year-old wife starved to death after the two were left back in Sudan, their family said, complaining that the British government did nothing to help them.

Abdallah Solgami lived with his 80-year-old wife Alaweya Riswan, who was disabled, just “steps away” from the British embassy building in Khartoum, the BBC reported.

As the family told the BBC, Solgami was not offered support to leave Sudan after the war broke out in the country. He was simply told to go to an airport 40 kilometers outside Khartoum, across a war zone, to board a flight that would take foreign nationals out of the country.

Faced with hunger and no water himself and his wife, Solgami was forced to leave the house in search of help. He was shot three times – in his arm, chest and back – by snipers. He survived after being transferred to a family member in another part of Khartoum.

The family reported that Solgami’s wife Alaweya Riswan was left alone and impossible for family members to reach as their home was in an area surrounded by snipers. The result was that the 80-year-old died of starvation.

Solgami’s granddaughter Azhar, who grew up in Khartoum, said the British embassy building was “at most four steps away” from her grandparents’ home. “I was informed that they had 100 soldiers who came and removed the embassy staff. “Couldn’t they cross the street? I’m still very disappointed with them,” she said.

“What happened to my grandparents was a crime against humanity, not only by the Rapid Support Force (RSF), not only by the (Sudanese army), but also by the British Embassy, ​​because they were the only who could have prevented this from happening to my grandparents,” added Azhar.

Solgami managed to escape to Egypt, where he is receiving medical treatment after being operated on without anesthetic in Khartoum by his son, who is a doctor.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The last evacuation flight, organized by the UK, departed on 3 May, completing the largest evacuation operation of any Western nation. The successful operation evacuated more than 2,450 people in 30 flights, the vast majority of them British nationals and their dependents.

“Solgami’s case is extremely sad. The ongoing military conflict means Sudan remains dangerous. Our ability to provide consular assistance is very limited and we cannot provide personal support within Sudan.

The war that broke out on April 15 between the army under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo has claimed more than 1,800 lives, according to the NGO ACLED.

The fighting has displaced more than 1.3 million people, the International Organization for Migration said Wednesday.

About 320,000 others have fled to neighboring countries including Egypt, South Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, Central African Republic and Libya.