'Nobody is left'

As brutal fighting lays waste to wealthy central Khartoum, the capital city's most sought-after addresses are now so dangerous that residents are doing what they can to flee

- Jason Burke and Zeinab Mohammed Salih

On one street is a small cafe where diplomats, successful business people and visiting dignitaries used to enjoy smoothies and burgers under umbrellas set against the blistering sun. On another is a showroom for custom-designed kitchens imported from Europe. Down dusty potholed roads, there are villas behind high walls and apartment blocks where chandeliers hang above shining marble stairways.

These central Khartoum neighbourhoods, once the most sought-after addresses in Sudan’s capital city, are now so dangerous that residents cannot wait to flee. In recent days, they have been the stage for a brutal power struggle, shattered by shells, grenades and automatic rifle fire that trapped tens of thousands in their homes.

Some have managed to escape. Last Thursday, people continued to stream out of central Khartoum and, to a lesser extent, the twin city of Omdurman across the Nile.

Omer Belal, a resident of Khartoum 2, a neighbourhood close to major ministries and the fiercely contested international airport, has sent his family to relatives in the outskirts of the city.

“I could be the last person to leave. I am just waiting for the explosions to stop for a bit,” Belal said. “There was an artillery strike and my neighbour’s house was hit by a huge rocket. Entire neighbourhoods and the areas around us are empty … Nobody is left here.”