Sudan's Descent into Chaos & The Abyss: A Nation on the Brink

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The gold market in Sudan has become a nightmarish landscape of rubble and dog-eaten corpses. The state television station, once a symbol of national pride, has been transformed into a grim torture chamber. Meanwhile, the national film archive, a treasure trove of Sudanese heritage, lies blown open and neglected under the harsh sun. Artillery shells rain over the Nile, indiscriminately targeting hospitals and homes. Residents are forced to bury their dead at their doorsteps, while others march in formation, joining civilian militias in a desperate bid for survival. In the famine wards, starving babies cling to life, though every few days, another one dies.

 

Khartoum, once the bustling capital of Sudan and one of Africa's largest cities, has been reduced to a charred battleground. A power struggle between two generals has plunged the country into a brutal civil war, turning the city into the epicenter of one of the world's most dire humanitarian crises. Since the conflict erupted last year, as many as 150,000 people have died, according to American estimates. Another nine million have been forced from their homes, creating the largest displacement crisis on earth, according to the United Nations. A looming famine threatens to kill hundreds of thousands of children in the coming months, potentially rivaling the catastrophic Ethiopian famine of the 1980s.

 

 

Foreign powers, including the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Russia, and even Ukrainian special forces, have turned Sudan into a battleground for their interests, pouring weapons and fighters into the conflict. These players are eyeing Sudan's rich resources, such as gold and its strategic location on the Red Sea. Samawal Ahmed, surveying the wreckage of a once-famous market, expressed the widespread sentiment: “I lost everything,” he said, clutching a batch of documents salvaged from his destroyed home. “It makes my stomach churn. All this could have been avoided.”

 

 

The war began unexpectedly in April 2023 when a standoff between Sudan’s military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a powerful paramilitary group, erupted into violence on the streets of Khartoum. Few Sudanese anticipated a prolonged conflict, as previous coups in the country’s history had often been brief and relatively bloodless. However, the fighting quickly escalated, spreading beyond Khartoum in waves that consumed much of Africa’s third-largest country. Now, neither side appears capable of achieving a decisive victory, and the war is spiraling into a devastating free-for-all. In Darfur, a region infamous for war crimes two decades ago, another genocide looms. The fields of Sudan’s breadbasket have turned into battlegrounds, and the health system is collapsing under the strain. A multitude of armed groups, including hard-line Islamists, foreign mercenaries, and even former pro-democracy protesters, have joined the fray.

 

With American-led peace talks stalled, Sudan is on the brink of collapse, threatening to destabilize the entire region. Experts warn that it is only a matter of time before one of Sudan’s neighbors, such as Chad, Eritrea, or South Sudan, gets drawn into the conflict. Though often overshadowed by the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the conflict in Sudan has global implications. Iran, already backing the Houthis in Yemen, is now supporting military forces on both sides of the Red Sea. Europeans fear a surge of Sudanese migrants heading for their shores. A recent U.S. intelligence assessment warned that a lawless Sudan could become a haven for “terrorist and criminal networks.”

 

 

Approaching the capital, the sounds of artillery and warplanes are constant, and an oily plume of smoke rises from Sudan’s largest refinery, another flashpoint in the sprawling urban battle. Amid the chaos, residents sleep in abandoned houses, where neighbors share stories of loss and survival. One man recounts how a bomb killed his sister in their kitchen. The Nile River, long a defining feature of Khartoum, now divides the city militarily. Snipers hide along the riverbank, drones hunt for targets, and an island in the river has become an RSF-controlled prison. Dr. Manahil Mohamed, leading a tour of the Aliaa Specialist Hospital overlooking the Nile, points out the stark panorama: a deserted street lined with burned-out vehicles and a skyline of gutted buildings. Among the ruins stands the old Republican Palace, a historical symbol now in flames.

 

For over half a century, Sudan’s military waged wars in the country’s peripheries, leaving Khartoum untouched. Now, the RSF, a successor to the Janjaweed militias notorious for their atrocities in Darfur, has brought their brutal tactics to the capital. Half of Khartoum’s nine million residents have fled, and the city’s infrastructure is in shambles. Banks have been looted, cars stolen, and the international airport closed. “A city of this size, this wealth, and nothing remains?” lamented Mohamed Eldaw, a banker. “It must be the biggest episode of looting in history.”

 

At Aliaa hospital, the sound of outgoing artillery interrupts the calm. Shells have repeatedly hit the hospital, which mainly treats soldiers, often puncturing its walls. Surgeons perform operations by the light of mobile phones due to the lack of electricity. Relief came in February when the military, armed with Iranian drones, recaptured part of the city, allowing hundreds of wounded troops to be evacuated to Port Sudan. Colonel Osman Taha, a wounded officer in the Sudanese military, recounted a harrowing escape across the Nile under fire. Despite losing his leg, he sees no end to the conflict. “Guns can’t solve this problem,” he said. “We need to talk peace.”

 

 

For many Sudanese, war means hunger. Amna Amin, a mother of five, lost her job and her husband disappeared, leaving her unable to feed her children. Her twins, born in September, began showing signs of malnutrition. Desperate, she crossed the front lines to reach a children’s hospital. The United Nations has not yet declared a famine, but experts believe one is already underway in parts of Darfur and Khartoum. More than 220,000 children could die in the coming months, the U.N. warns, as both sides use hunger as a weapon of war.

 

Hospitals like Al Nau in Omdurman are overwhelmed, with patients sleeping two to a bed. Many have been displaced multiple times, running a gauntlet of checkpoints and violence. Huda Adil, paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by RSF fighters, and others like her face immense challenges just to receive medical care. Among the displaced is Mujahid Abdulaziz, a 20-year-old engineering student who was shot at an RSF checkpoint. His journey to get the bullet removed took him on a 100-mile detour through the conflict-ridden city. Before the war, he had dreams of a brighter future, participating in protests that toppled President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2019. Now, those hopes are shattered. “We were just dreaming,” he said. “Those hopes are gone.”

 

 

Despite the devastation, some residents remain defiant. Mudassir Ibrahim, showing scars from a week of RSF detention, described the horrors he endured. “It felt like death a thousand times over,” he said. Evidence of torture was visible at the national radio and television station, where ropes and restraints hung in barred rooms. Filthy walls were scrawled with names, pleas, and poetry. In Omdurman, some residents refuse to leave despite the danger. “We were born here, we grew up here, and we will die here,” said Edward Fahmy, an Orthodox Christian who stayed even as bombs fell. The war threatens to erase Sudan’s rich cultural and religious diversity.

 

At Marmina Coptic Orthodox church, bullet holes in a rooftop fresco of Jesus symbolize the destruction. Sheikh Elamin, a Sufi Muslim leader, runs a soup kitchen and other relief efforts, bringing hope to many. “In this time of war, he’s become the most popular figure in the country — period,” said Suliman Baldo, a Sudan analyst. As the war drags on, militias proliferate. Young people who once protested for democracy now join armed groups, further complicating the conflict. Even some military leaders are concerned. Lt. Gen. Shams al-Din al-Kabbashi warned that the militias could become a new threat, but was rebuked by other commanders.

 

 

Foreign powers continue to fuel the war, smuggling weapons and supporting various factions. The United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iran, and Russia all have stakes in the conflict. Russia’s Wagner mercenaries and Ukrainian special forces add to the complexity. Sudan’s military has recently turned to Iran for weapons, alarming Washington. The conflict risks drawing in neighboring countries, including Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Amid the chaos, some Sudanese in exile call for international intervention. “It’s sheer madness,” said Ibrahim Elbadawi, a former economy minister. “The people of Sudan demand it. Enough is enough.” 

As Sudan spirals deeper into conflict, the devastation in Khartoum is a bitter reckoning for a nation that once seemed full of promise. The consequences of this war, if unchecked, could be felt far beyond its borders.

 

Credit: New York Times 2024-06-10

 

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[Roo Island]

Absolutely terrible. Was hoping to visit there this year. Doesn't look good. Same for Ethiopia.

[cncltd1973]

what does intervention even mean in that situation? it would be like separating a tiger fight