Khartoum return: displaced Sudanese face war’s aftermath
Tens of thousands of displaced Sudanese are returning to a devastated Khartoum, only to face a city gripped by insecurity, darkness and widespread destruction.
Among them is Muzmil Salah, who told The National, reported on May 3rd, he would not bring his family home until he repaired his looted house and believed the security situation had improved.
“It’s terrifying at night. Homes and streets are engulfed in total darkness. I never leave home after sunset,” he said.
Like many displaced Sudanese returnees, Salah lives without state-supplied electricity, often charging his phone at a shop powered by solar panels and climbing to his roof to find mobile signal in Khartoum.
“I am not sure you will actually get this voice note. My battery is at 18 per cent and the signal is very bad,” Salah added.
Other challenges confronting returnees include the absence of running water, scarce healthcare, soaring food prices and continued shelling from Rapid Support Forces (RSF) positions on the outskirts of the capital.
Sudan’s civil war, which began in April 2023, has displaced at least 13 million people, three million of whom are now living in neighbouring countries such as Egypt, Chad, South Sudan and the Central African Republic.
Recent gains have returned the army to control of Khartoum, Bahri, Omdurman and the Al Jazirah region, but the RSF still controls much of Darfur, as well as parts of Kordofan and Blue Nile.
While there are no official figures for the number of returnees, many men have returned alone to assess whether conditions are safe for their families. Several said homes were looted and damaged, with no services and few neighbours in sight.
“My home has been stripped of its windows, doors, water tank, furniture and the kitchen,” says Ali Siddiq, a lecturer at Bahri university who has returned to his home in the Khartoum district of Burri.
“The house’s walls need restoration, but it’s financially difficult for me,” he added.
Others like Ezzedeen Youssef have urged family not to return at all, citing unsafe conditions, lack of medical care and harassment at army checkpoints. “They ask too many questions, many of them unnecessary,” he said.
The National. Maghrebi
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