Brian McDaid on board an aircraft taking people out of war-torn Sudan. Pic from Brian McDaid/BBC NI
Brian McDaid, a teacher at an international school in Khartoum, told of sheltering in a basement with his family in Khartoum as gunfire and shelling was heard in the capital.
Fighting erupted in the country because of a vicious power struggle within the country’s military leadership.
The clashes are between the regular army and a paramilitary force called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Mr McDaid was flown out of the country via neighbouring Djibouti with his family by the Spanish military.
Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle’s The North West Today, Mr McDaid said: “The fighting started to spill out from the main areas.
“There was a fear that it could get to a level or a stage that somebody could come into the home.
“I know that has happened to a lot of people and heard stories of soldiers coming into houses to get civilian clothes so that they could blend in and sneak away.
“There are some stories that just don’t bear thinking about and as soon as that became a real threat we realised we had to go.”
Mr McDaid said that being non-Sudanese, he became “very self-conscious” that there could be some resentment towards him from rival forces.
He said there were perceptions of foreign involvement from both sides in the conflict and he knew “it could get a lot more uncomfortable”.
The Irish passport holder said he got a call from Irish officials on Sunday morning advising him to go to the Spanish ambassador’s residence in Khartoum.
Mr McDaid said his family had to make a split-decision and decided that where they were hiding was no longer safe and they had to go.
The Derry man said their initial journey to the airstrip was aborted because of heavy bombing but eventually they had a window to travel.
“Before we left our neighbourhood I thought ‘this can’t be happening’ – there was a little mortar that dropped and fell maybe three metres from one of the cars,” he said.
“That was one of the most stressful journeys I have ever made.
“I did see one or two corpses on the way, one of them was covered up and another was just pushed to the side.
“There was also a heavy RSF presence there, and there were a lot of checkpoints on the way and you don’t know if they are who they say they are.
“It was nerve-racking stuff, the airstrip was only a 20 minute drive from where we were, but it took more than two hours.”
Mr McDaid is now slowly readjusting to life back in Derry.
“We are a bit tired and are just getting used to the cold again, but it is great to be home,” he said.
British nationals who want to leave Sudan have been told “now is the time to move” by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly
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