After fleeing during the war, a large portion of Khartoum’s population returned to it, hoping to restore their lives, but they were faced with the choice of leaving again or remaining reluctantly, in light of its lack of basic necessities of life, despite the passage of months since its return to the custody of the army.
About 4 million people left the capital after the outbreak of war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces in April 2023. It is estimated that 2.7 million people returned after the army retook the city last year, according to Agence France-Presse.
But for many, the joy of return faded in the face of the difficult living reality.
Among them is businessman Imad Khaled Ahmed (43 years old), whose family returned from Cairo a month ago, but is preparing to return them again to the Egyptian capital.
He explains: “I am not saying that I regret it, but the decision to return the family was a mistake.” Government officials who were asked to return to Khartoum told Agence France-Presse that they also intended to keep their families abroad.
The scars of war remain fresh in Khartoum. The Shambat Bridge, which was a vital artery between the two parts of the city, part of it is still missing since it was subjected to an air strike. In the center of the capital, there are abandoned cars whose tires were stolen and whose bodies were riddled with bullets.
While the army commander, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, sought to market his return to Khartoum as a pivotal stop, the background of the scenes published by the army reveals the extent of the destruction: the Republican Palace is just a shell of what it was, and its interior is mostly empty after it was subjected to looting and vandalism at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces.
Despite this, the army is encouraging residents to return, has rebuilt the airport, reopened it to operate domestic flights, and has begun rehabilitating some of the infrastructure.
“There is a lump in our throat”
However, this was not enough to restore services. Electricity is still cut off for days on end, as is water, and many people struggle to shop in light of exorbitant prices that continue to rise daily.
Souad Muhammad Idris (49 years old) says that she returned to her home in Khartoum Bahri to find that its furniture had been stolen. In light of her inability to buy a new refrigerator, she is forced to buy food daily.
The woman, a widow and mother of six children, adds: “I have to buy vegetables and meat every day, and the prices are high and every day they increase... It is true that we came with a longing for our country, but the prices are crushing.”
The return was concentrated in the popular neighborhoods, while upscale areas remain waiting for their residents, such as “Khartoum 2,” where broken glass spreads in its tree-shaded streets, between luxurious homes, some of which are destroyed, in a silence broken only by the chirping of birds.
After 3 months of returning, Soraya Babiker (86 years old) is packing her bags again.
She explained to Agence France-Presse: “My husband, my young daughter and I will leave for the Emirates... Of course we wanted not to leave, but our health condition and the difficulty of obtaining treatment” necessitate that.
The health sector, which was severely damaged in the war, is a priority for many.
Although charities rehabilitated some hospitals when residents began returning last year, many medical supplies remain unavailable.
Dr. Haifa Omar says: “We try as much as possible so that the patient and his family do not have to undergo any tests or x-rays outside the hospital.”
She adds: “But some medicines are not available... We ask the patient to buy them from outside the hospital, and we have a lump in our throat because we know people’s circumstances.”
Even outside the hospital, it is not easy to find medicine, according to Imam Bakr Abbas, who returned to southern Khartoum with his wife, two children, and parents, after spending 3 years in Cairo.
In front of a pharmacy, the 34-year-old man says: “My father has blood pressure, and to get the medicine, I have to enter 10 pharmacies to find it, and its price changes daily.”
Abbas also struggles to keep insulin refrigerated for his mother, who suffers from diabetes. He explains that he bought a refrigerator, “but the electricity goes out 12 hours a day, and it gets damaged.”
“Things are not okay”
Khartoum is now a shadow of what it once was: a major African metropolis with a population of more than 8 million.
A UN official told Agence France-Presse in Khartoum that the scale of destruction exceeds all the conflicts he witnessed, including Ukraine.
Although the Rapid Support Forces launch sporadic attacks with marches on Khartoum, the authorities insist that things return to normal.
It ended the distance education system in universities in July, and students were required to return. This step prompted medical professors at the University of Khartoum to threaten to submit mass resignations.
One of the master’s students told Agence France-Presse: “The university refused to discuss her master’s research online,” even though her supervisor “is in another country.”
As for another student who was scheduled to begin the final year of her bachelor’s degree in business administration, she is racing against time to obtain a scholarship in Egypt to start studying again, after she missed her attendance exams this summer.
She says sadly: “They did not listen to us.” All they cared about was that people would come back.”
The young woman, who asked to remain anonymous, adds: “It is political. They want people to come back to show that things are fine, but... they are not fine at all.”
