Sudanese families return to the capital despite the dangers of war
The battles between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces are still raging in Khartoum, but this has not prevented many families who fled the capital to relatively safe states from returning to them despite the seriousness of the security conditions.
The bombs and projectiles did not prevent the return of many displaced families, as they fall on most of the capital’s neighborhoods daily as a result of mutual artillery shelling and air strikes, and here the displaced are returning, not caring about the danger, as their living conditions may have been more harsh.
Clashes took place on Wednesday between army forces and the Rapid Support Forces in large parts of Omdurman, in which light and heavy weapons were used, and warplanes and drones flew, while the army tried to penetrate into the city center to control the vital Shambat Bridge, which connects it to Khartoum. Bahri, which is the main supply line for the Rapid Support Forces from the west of the country to the three cities of the capital.
Plumes of smoke rising in Khartoum after one of the rounds of fighting (Archive – Reuters)
A number of returnees who were spoken to by the Arab World News Agency agreed that they were forced to return to their homes in Khartoum despite the risks. Due to economic pressures and the lack of job opportunities in the destinations to which they migrated.
Ayman Mirghani, one of the returning displaced people, said that he made the decision to return despite the seriousness of the situation and the expansion of the battles. Because he no longer has a stable source of income, and he complains about the “exhausting” requirements of life.
Mirghani returned with his family of 5 to their home in Omdurman, which, along with the cities of Khartoum and Khartoum Bahri, forms the triangular capital, coming from the city of Shendi in the Nile River State in northern Sudan after 3 months spent in the hospitality of one of their relatives there.
He said: “My children continued to complain of discomfort, as the house was filled with displaced relatives who came from different areas of Khartoum. We cannot rent a separate house because of the high rents.”
Mirghani owned a car maintenance shop, but he was forced to close it after the outbreak of war due to the decline in the number of his customers. Upon his return, he opened a small store selling fast food in one of Omdurman’s markets, which generated a limited income from which he supported his family and covered a small part of their needs.
Sudanese cook in a school that has been converted into a shelter for displaced people in the border town of Wadi Halfa in northern Sudan (AFP)
But he did not hide his fears about the dangers of returning to combat zones, noting that all day long they hear the sound of artillery shells fired from army camps near the place of residence, terrifying families, old and young.
Financial burdens
Nafisa Ibrahim, who fled two months ago from the Wadnobawi neighborhood in downtown Omdurman, which witnesses almost daily battles between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, confirms that she intends to return to Omdurman.
She told the Arab World News Agency that she had rented a house at a high rent for two months in the hope that the war would have ended in the meantime, but her estimates were disappointed, and she became financially unable to fulfill her financial obligations.
She is no longer able to return to her home, not only because of the theft it was subjected to, as the neighborhood in which it is located is witnessing ongoing military operations and battles that make returning to it difficult at the present time.
She said that she would go to her relatives’ house in the Al-Thawra suburb, north of Omdurman, which she said was relatively safe compared to other areas in Khartoum.
East Nile Hospital in Khartoum was destroyed in an air strike (Archive – Reuters)
The governor of Khartoum State, Ahmed Othman Hamza, said after meeting with a delegation of residents of central Omdurman neighborhoods, who were forced to leave their homes and head to the north of the city, that he discussed with them arrangements for returning to their neighborhoods and the precautions required for a safe return.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in October that the displacement crisis resulting from the conflict in Sudan continues unabated, with nearly 6 million people forced to leave their homes. Women and children constitute approximately 90 percent of the displaced.
Operations area
Mohammed Abdullah, who returned to his home in southern Khartoum after leaving for the city of Wad Medani in Gezira State in the center of the country, said: “On a personal level, and according to my observations from the ground, Khartoum in general is a military operations area.”
He added to the Arab World News Agency that the fighting has not stopped, as artillery shelling continues, along with the flight of warplanes and the danger of stray and intentional bullets, in addition to “the spread of unruly people who attack people, whether those belonging to the two sides of the conflict or ordinary criminals.”
He explained that the biggest problem facing most returnees is that Khartoum currently has no workplaces after factories and companies have stopped. He said: “Most businesses have stopped and everyone is unemployed.”
Abdullah added: “The biggest disaster is that returning to Khartoum is complicated, as residents may be killed or injured at any moment; Because military operations do not stop, in addition to the fact that the humanitarian situation is also very difficult in terms of the availability of hospitals and other services such as water, electricity, markets, and stores, and these are among the most important things that threaten the return of families.”
The ongoing war in Khartoum, and other cities in western Sudan, has led to more than 80 percent of health facilities being out of service, according to the Preliminary Committee of the Doctors Syndicate, which said that Khartoum, with its three cities, currently relies on only 4 hospitals.
Fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces suddenly in mid-April, while the military and civilian parties were putting the final touches on an internationally supported political process.
Abdullah says: “Unfortunately, there are families who have returned to their homes due to the pressures they were exposed to in the states, including high rent and living expenses, and so on. I see buses entering the capital every day, especially from Gezira State. There is a large movement for residents to return to their homes despite everything.”
2023-11-09 14:15:00
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