HOME FROM HELL
Family escape to Islay but fear for father who is still in Sudan
A SCOTS mother has returned to her island home after fleeing war torn Sudan with her four children.
Jennifer McLellan, 36, began the treacherous journey back to Islay on Tuesday.
Her husband Mohamed and his brother put the family into a car and made the 250-mile trip from their home in Aj Jafra al Fuwarin to an airfield near Khartoum, dodging gunfire as they travelled.
The family were then separated as they boarded an evacuation flight while Mohamed remained in his native Sudan to be with his mother and brother.
Mrs McLellan and her children aged between two and 15 arrived in Cyprus along with dozens of British nationals the next day.
Yesterday her gruelling journey came to an end as she confirmed she had returned to her home on the Hebridean island. She said: ‘We are so relieved to be back home safely in Scotland. It has been a difficult journey to get here. But we were very well looked after along the way.
‘A huge thank you to everyone who has supported us and to the military, who continue to work tirelessly to help others in this terrible situation.
‘We are obviously heartbroken to have left Mohamed behind and we pray for his safety and that we will be reunited some day soon.
‘We can’t even bear to think about the danger that he is still in. And many others still trapped in Sudan. The future for us is unknown as we have left our whole lives behind.
‘We have literally came with the clothes we are wearing and a few hastily packed items. We have to get some rest and see what our next steps will be.’
Yesterday, the deputy prime minister said British nationals in Sudan have 24 hours to catch a flight before they are stopped.
The flights will end at 6pm today, Oliver Dowden confirmed. He said more than 1,500 people had been flown out of the country but there had been a ‘significant decline in British nationals coming forward’ so the Government would cease the flights.
Countries are in a race against the clock to evacuate their citizens from Sudan after the two warring factions extended a ceasefire by 72 hours on Friday.
Thousands have fled the country in recent days .