Diaspora worries for loved ones stuck in Sudan conflict

Death, destruction and daring escapes taking place across Sudan are keeping families members in Australia awake at night, desperately worried about their loved ones.

When Bakri Gabir's wife Mona told him she had jumped on a military plane out of Sudan, where civilians have endured air strikes and gun battles for two weeks, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Mr Gabir, an interpreter in Sydney, had been holidaying in the capital Khartoum a few weeks ago and came back with his children. 

His wife, a businesswoman, decided to stay with her family before widespread fighting broke out this month.

"Me and the kids were in touch constantly with her every step of the way just extremely worried about her safety," he told AAP on Friday, hours after his wife escaped her homeland.

Through a WhatsApp group of Sudanese Australians, Ms Gabir was told to meet at Wadi Seidna air base, which the British air force has used to co-ordinate evacuation flights during a 72-hour ceasefire.

The latest amnesty between the warring sides has been extended by an extra 72 hours but several truces have been broken.

"The biggest problem was how to get her from home to the base," Mr Gabir said. 

"She managed to hire a private car after a bus with other Sudanese fell through but it took two hours to get past checkpoints and the general lawlessness."

Voice and text messages from Ms Gabir were his lifeline, with the last coming early on Friday morning to tell him she had boarded the military plane.

Fighting between the Sudanese military and a paramilitary group has killed more than 500 people, wounded thousands and prompted tens of thousands to flee.

Almost 160 Australians were still in Sudan at the start of this week, with officials working to provide assistance.

"This is the first time that an all-out war has broken out in the capital. Sudan has witnessed many wars before but always in the regions," Mr Gabir said.

Emmanuel Kondok is still up all hours of the night worried about his relatives in Sudan.

"When I called one of my relatives, I heard gunshots in the background," the 53-year-old said from his Sydney home.

"You can't predict the situation. My relative didn't know if he'd be dead or alive by the morning."

Originally from South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, Mr Kondok has family in Khartoum.

He spent 15 years in a Kenyan refugee camp after fleeing conflict in Sudan in the 1990s. The latest unrest has triggered memories of those bloody battles.

"The two leaders aren't killing each other, they're killing innocent civilians, they're killing mothers and children," he said.

"I have been getting some calls from people lying on their stomach on streets because of the constant aerial bombardments as they go out to get supplies," he said.

"There's no water, no electricity and no food. Everyone is inside their homes lying low to the ground."

The conflict reminds Adhar Simon of his own experience escaping a brutal civil war in Sudan during the 1980s under successive autocratic governments.

The South Sudanese refugee has been in Australia for more than 15 years but hearing his relatives' anguish dredges up painful memories.

"This is a very tough situation. People are dying indiscriminately. We don't know how long it's going to take for all of it to end," he said.

Before landing in Sydney, he remembers hiding in the bush during harsh winters battling the elements and swarms of mosquitoes.

"I know what they are going through. I went through it a long time ago," Mr Simon said.

"We were born in war and now another generation doesn't have the opportunity to go to grow up properly. Enough is enough."