KARTOUM, SUDAN (AP) – What remains of Afaf al-Tayeb’s home in KARTOUM, Sudan is a windowless structure that has no peeled, windows, but in June she has returned enthusiastically. I feel safe again This is the first time since Sudanese forces said they would take the capital from their rivals’ swift support forces.
Alteib has been at least four difficult to avoid with his son, Mohamed Al Kedl and his family since the outbreak of civil wars in North African countries more than two years ago. They had been evacuated in various parts of Khartoum, but have never felt as comfort as the home in the Alkauz district of Khartoum city.
She misses a photo of her parents and her late husband. Her home was lost in March when her home was damaged by a fire and is with all her other possessions. The loss of her home left her with tears and deep sadness, she told The Associated Press.
The family was first kicked out into the Hirariya region of Gezilla and received nothing but the clothes they wore until RSF advanced in the state and forced them to return to Alkauz.
Al-Tayeb said the RSF fighters expelled her and her family and they had to escape to East Khartoum.
“They looked very strange – they looked horrible, indescribable,” she said of the RSF fighter planes that raided her home.
Al Taeve and her son are among them Approximately 1.2 million According to the latest estimates by the International Organization for Migration, people returned to Sudan between December 2024 and May this year.
“Destruction of infrastructure”
The UN Refugee Agency says that more than 12 million people have been forced to displace since the current conflict began in April 2023, and that 3.2 million Sudanese people are seeking evacuation from their neighboring countries.
The conflict killed more than 40,000 people, pushing many to the brink of hunger Some disease outbreaks.
Khartoum was the epicenter of fighting at the start of the war, but the army said it had Recaptured the capital Earlier this year, it includes important landmarks such as the airport and ministerial buildings. General Abdel Fatta Burhan, the Secretary of the Army, returned to the capital for the first time in March since it began when an army-led government fled Hartzm for the Red Sea city of Sudan.
Mohanad Elbalal, co-founder of Khartoum Aid Kitchen, has been recaptured by the Khartoum province’s military. People are back The neighborhood shattered to find their homes destroyed. Often, electricity, scarce food, water and services become scarce, but they are coming back to rebuild their homes.
In Khartoum city, current has been destroyed and cables are torn from the ground.
“In some areas of the Khartoum region, there was a complete demolition of the infrastructure,” Elbalal told the Associated Press. “The hospital shipped the bed along with the mattress and was stolen.”
According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Monitoring Organization, out of more than 60 power and water facilities that were partially or completely damaged as a result of the conflict, 16 served Khartoum.
Khartoum government spokesman Altyeb Saad said 77 power transfer stations across the state have been looted and destroyed along with generators that distribute electricity to the areas they live in.
“Khartoum has taken serious measures towards repairs to rebuild the state despite this destruction,” he said, adding that the first phase of the reconstruction is nearing completion. The work focuses on removing bodies, clearing up unprofitable weapons and other war wreckages, opening blocked roads and disinfecting neighborhoods to prevent disease outbreaks.
Khartoum officials are currently focusing on restoring basic services such as electricity, water pumps, pavement, sidewalks and solar panels. Saad said the power is expected to return to the Bahri, East Nile and Khartoum districts soon.
Sudanese officials estimate that rebuilding Khartoum would cost billions of dollars. Kholood Khair, founding director of Confluence Advisory, said the capital is likely to face another attack in the ongoing war, which would have difficulty finding one reliable operating partner if it chooses to help rebuild Khartoum.
There are no basic necessities
When Al Teyab returned to her damaged empty house, even the gold she buried under the floor of her house was stolen. With the RSF gone from the neighbourhood, families still struggle due to lack of water, electricity and medical care, relying on solar panels for costly drinking water and electricity.
“There is no service at all on Al-Qawz. It remains for months without basic services, and at least some available or provide help, why did they release Khartoum?” she asked.
Her neighbor, Nasser al-Assad, had been difficult to avoid five since the war began, but returned to her home on July 26th to discover that it had been partially destroyed by artillery fire. He and his family are struggling to secure basic necessities.
Khartoum is not investing in rehabilitation, and community members work together to rewire electricity, install solar panels and connect taps to wells in some areas.
This month’s Associated Press footage showed a young man from Khartoum taking it in to clean his neighborhood. Seeing one man clearing the entrance to the Alcauz Social and Sports Club, the other man wiped out a pile of burnt tree branches, trash and ashes.
“The perfect recipe for organized crime”
Elbalal said he relies heavily on food charity kitchens as the lack of critical infrastructure makes it difficult for people to find work.
“It’s expensive for most people, but at this point, most people spend most of their income on food. “However, they don’t get the nutritional balance they need. With the (charity) kitchen and the food they can buy, the food situation is manageable.”
At the height of the conflict, Khartoum supports the state’s kitchen branch. That number is falling by half, but many still need the kitchen to survive.
Khair said that while returning visitors to Khartoum are relieved, their area is free from RSF, they still face uncertainty. The acts of robbery, ethnic profiling and illegal occupation of the house continue without proper civil order and the rule of law.
“The lack of services and increased militarization are the perfect recipes for organised crime to take root,” she added.
