Displaying items by tag: Khartoum

Khartoum, once Sudan’s bustling capital, now lies gutted after months of brutal conflict. The army’s recent victory over the paramilitary RSF is a turning point in a two-year civil war that has claimed at least 150,000 lives. Though the RSF’s grip on Khartoum has ended, uncertainty remains about what lies ahead. The city bears deep scars: the presidential palace, once a powerful symbol, has been looted and bombed, its grandeur reduced to rubble. Banks, ministries, and the airport are charred remnants. Yet amid the destruction, remnants of faith endure. At St Matthew’s Cathedral, damaged by nearby shelling and desecrated by RSF forces, the beautiful painted ceiling has survived. One soldier cleaning inside said his son was born on the first day of the war, but he still hasn’t met him. Despite atrocities committed by both sides and ongoing violence elsewhere, people in Khartoum rejoiced during Eid, briefly reclaiming hope in a city that has seen the heart of Sudan torn open.

It is a fraught situation for Christians trapped in Khartoum since Sudan’s civil war erupted on 15 April between the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militias. Pastor Desta said living in his area was becoming almost impossible. Fire burned down his church and the local market. ‘Every two days we walk to a distant district to get water and provisions. Most of our neighbours have left. The other day two friends and I took the church car to get water and provisions, then RSF members searched and questioned us. It is getting awful. We are waiting for a couple of days. If it gets worse, we will leave. Many are saying that intense fighting means escape has become too dangerous now that RSF members surround those who remain. RSF uses nearby homes for shelter; they are targeted by the army. Indirectly, we are under siege. Nowhere is safe.’

The fall of President Bashir has intensified a competition for influence in Sudan, one of Africa’s biggest countries. Talks between the new military rulers, who have now arrested two of his brothers, and protesters demanding a civilian government continue, as thousands remain camped outside Khartoum army headquarters. Omar al-Bashir is under tight guard in a maximum-security prison. Uganda said it would consider offering asylum if he applied, despite an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The generals now running Sudan said Bashir will not be transferred to the ICC but will be tried in Sudan. Meanwhile demonstrators have vowed to stay on the streets, pressing for women's rights and the handover of power to the people. Hundreds of doctors marched in Khartoum on 18 April to get rid of the regime.