The humanitarian crisis in Sudan continues to worsen as the conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces escalates. Displaced individuals share their tragic stories during attempts to escape from combat zones. A report published by the Sunday Times highlights the harrowing testimonies from within the country, where cities have become temporary survival spaces rather than places to live.
In Khartoum, Shiraz Youssef recounts the moment the city collapsed with the outbreak of fighting between the two sides in April 2023. Although she could not hear the sounds of explosions due to hearing loss, she could see everything: the sky ablaze with smoke, people running aimlessly, and armed soldiers in the streets as confrontations began. Shiraz says she witnessed corpses while fleeing with her family from the conflict areas, where her mother urged her to move forward and not look back, but the scene was too powerful to forget.
Details of the Event
Today, Shiraz lives in the city of Kassala in eastern Sudan, inside an old school building that has turned into a shelter for hundreds of families displaced from combat zones. At night, the place transforms into a space of silent anxiety, where electricity cuts out and darkness weighs heavily. For Shiraz, fear is not linked to sound but to possibility; the possibility that danger may approach without her realizing it. She states that the war has stripped her of her sense of safety.
In Darfur, where the Rapid Support Forces have expanded, widespread violence has erupted, affecting cities, villages, and camps. In the city of El Fasher, which was the last stronghold of the Sudanese army in the region, reports speak of a prolonged siege by the Rapid Support Forces and a collapse of services amid bombardments and battles that have led to mass displacement. Survivors recount how roads have turned into death paths, where civilians attempting to flee from areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces faced looting, arrest, rape, or murder along the way.
Background & Context
Testimonies regarding mass killings are increasing, with bodies found in the streets or on the outskirts of cities, especially during battles in El Fasher and its surroundings. In one camp, a nineteen-year-old describes how he was detained while trying to escape from El Fasher, where he was taken with dozens of others to overcrowded buildings, where hunger, thirst, and fear prevailed. Detainees were sometimes forced to go out to drag corpses in the streets or transport them with donkey carts, making death a daily sight without exception.
In Darfur, women also speak of escape journeys fraught with violence. One woman recounts being beaten and robbed during her escape, and later suffering severe violations along the way. For her, the war did not end with leaving the city; rather, it began anew on the road to survival. Doctors in the region paint a parallel picture, as hospitals have gone out of service after becoming battlefields, some having been attacked or stormed, forcing medical staff to work in basements or alternative buildings.
Impact & Consequences
In displacement camps, daily tragedies accumulate. Overcrowding, malnutrition, and a lack of clean water make life extremely fragile. In some cases, fires have destroyed thousands of shelters in moments, leaving families homeless. Despite all this, the impact of war is present in every detail of life. Amid this bleak scene, some try to cling to what remains of a normal life. Shiraz, in Kassala, has started to learn to read again, stating that simple moments of joy or collective laughter within the camp give her a temporary sense that life has not been completely erased.
Regional Significance
However, fear remains the predominant presence. For her and other displaced individuals, the tragedy lies not only in what has happened but in what may happen again. The war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces has not only left cities in ruins but has also left a lasting feeling that stability itself is a temporary idea. In a country ravaged by war, these individual stories represent the true face of the crisis: civilians trapped between the fronts of combat, trying to survive amid a constantly changing reality, without assurance that tomorrow will be different from today.