After days of being trapped inside their homes due to fighting between the army and a rival paramilitary group, residents of Khartoum and the neighboring city of Omdurman took advantage of a relative calm to seek food and water. They lined up at bakeries and grocery stores, inspected shops and homes that had been destroyed or looted, and tried to get their basic needs met.
However, gunfire and explosions could still be heard, with clashes mainly taking place around the military’s headquarters and Republican Palace in central Khartoum and around bases in Omdurman.
The ongoing struggle between Sudan’s two top generals has pushed the population to a near breaking point. Food has become more difficult to obtain, electricity is cut off across much of the capital and other cities, and many hospitals have shut down.
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Multiple aid agencies have had to suspend operations, which is particularly concerning since a third of the population of 46 million relies on humanitarian assistance. With the future of any truce uncertain, many have tried to leave the capital to get out of the crossfire between the two factions.
Despite international evacuations of foreigners that began on Sunday, many Sudanese fear that the army and its rival Rapid Support Forces will continue to escalate their battle.
