Smoke was seen rising from Khartoum’s skyline on Sunday. The Sudanese army and a powerful paramilitary group have battled for control of the turbulent country, showing their unwillingness to end hostilities despite diplomatic pressure for a ceasefire.
Marwan Ali/AP
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Marwan Ali/AP
Smoke was seen rising from Khartoum’s skyline on Sunday. The Sudanese army and a powerful paramilitary group have battled for control of the turbulent country, showing their unwillingness to end hostilities despite diplomatic pressure for a ceasefire.
Marwan Ali/AP
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — A mother was shot in the street while crouching to protect her child. A toddler is trapped in a shelled building, separated from his mother. An entire family hid under the bed, with children crying from the constant gunfire and shelling.
These are just some of the stories that civilians living under siege for the past five days in the Sudanese capital Khartoum have told NPR when contacted by phone.
They describe the dire situation in the city, with no electricity, water or medicine, as they cower in the midst of the brutal urban war raging in their neighborhoods.
Violence broke out in Saturday between the Sudanese armed forces and a paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Force. The two are vying for power, despite promises that a civilian government would be formed after the October 2021 coup by the Sudanese military.
Hipa Salih, a Sudanese journalist, said: “I think we could die at any moment. “No one can feel safe in Khartoum now.”
Hipa Salih
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Hipa Salih
Hipa Salih, a Sudanese journalist, said: “Saturday morning, April 15, we woke up to the sound of gunfire, from that morning we lived in fear. “I think we could die at any moment. No one can feel safe in Khartoum right now.”
Her voice hoarse from inhaling gun smoke and bombs, she said: “The children were crying because they were very, very scared and the house was shaking… our whole family huddled under our beds, war planes flew by. our head. “
Civilians were shot in the street
Civilians cannot contact family members from whom they are separated, Salih said, so people are literally prisoners in their own homes. A woman she knows tried to move from one location to a safer place with her children — and was shot dead by RSF.
“They killed her in the middle of the street – she was trying to cover for her children and then they shot her,” she said.
“It’s the kind of war one might expect on the battlefield, but instead it’s happening right in the center of town,” Kholood Khair said.
Kholood Khair
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Kholood Khair
Kholood Khair, a researcher and scholar who also lives in Khartoum, said the extreme violence has shocked residents.
“On Saturday morning, people were barely aware of it,” Khair said. “It’s the kind of war one might expect on the battlefield, but instead, it’s happening right in the center of town. And the problem is that for many people, no one is really sure of this. how long it will last — and that uncertainty is fueling people’s anxiety and fear.”
“Families separated with no certainty will reunite with their loved ones,” she said. “A friend of mine was separated from her three-year-old daughter on Saturday and hasn’t been able to see her since. And because the streets aren’t safe she’s not sure if she’ll be able to get there. with her or not.Also, she just found out today that their apartment complex, where her daughter lives, has been attacked.So these are the kind of stories of despair, multiplied. tens of thousands of times, existing throughout Khartoum.”
Duaa Tariq said: “We paint graffiti on the street, just to remind people that our voice is here. “We’re trying to be heard, because you know bullets are always louder than people’s voices, but we’re trying to get through.”
Duaa Tariq
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Duaa Tariq
Duaa Tariq said: “We paint graffiti on the street, just to remind people that our voice is here. “We’re trying to be heard, because you know the bullets are always louder than people’s voices, but we’re trying to get through.”
Duaa Tariq
Duaa Tariq, an art curator, told NPR she was trapped in a house with her five-month pregnant sister and two-year-old grandson. They are starting to run out of food.
“Right now the fight has come to my neighborhood,” she said. “Three people were killed two minutes’ walk from my house due to air defense, and yes, we’re scared and scared and we’re in a very bad state of supplies as well.”
The dreams of democracy have been usurped by the military many times
Tariq, 30, is a member of one of Sudan’s grassroots pro-democracy resistance committees. She participated in a peaceful people power revolution in 2019 brought down President Omar al-Bashir, the longtime dictator of the North African country and a prosecuted war criminal. Since then, she has continued her activism, hoping to see a democratic Sudan.
But that dream was repeatedly robbed by the military. First the coup in 2021, and now the skirmish between the Sudanese army and the RSF. The two were former allies – RSF is a group created by Bashir that grew out of notorious organizations. The Janjaweed militia is responsible for abuses in Darfur.
When asked if she felt hopeless that democracy would come to Sudan now, Tariq was defiant.
“Our neighborhood committee, last night we went out and graffitied the streets, just to remind people that our voices are here. We’re trying to be heard, because because you know, bullets are always louder than people’s voices, but we’re trying to get through.”
