The Scars Of War Among Survivors In Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan — Three years of warfare person devastated overmuch of Sudan. The effect has been pressed into nan tegument of survivors, and their memories.

Thousands of group are dead. Millions are displaced. Associated Press journalists spent much than a week successful and astir nan superior aft nan service retook Khartoum past year. It continues to conflict elsewhere against nan paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Here are immoderate of nan war’s survivors and their stories. A personnel of nan subject media accompanied nan AP during nan visit, including during interviews. The AP retains afloat editorial power of its content.

Soccer dreams shattered

Omer al-Toum had dreamed of playing for Sudan’s nationalist shot team. But everything changed successful October, erstwhile an unexploded limb went disconnected successful his location arsenic he tried to usage it to loosen a nail. He mislaid portion of his correct limb and near arm. His remaining limb was shattered.

Calm and good-natured, nan 33-year-old swoons these days complete his 8-month aged daughter, trying to enactment positive.

“When I knew that my limb had been amputated, my family expected much of a guidance from maine but I didn’t show them really affected I was,” he said.

Now al-Toum can’t bathe aliases get retired of furniture alone, and immoderate doorways successful nan location aren’t wide capable for his wheelchair. He wants prosthetics but must recreation overseas for bully ones.

He’s recovered solace successful coaching soccer, and tells young players to enactment successful schoolhouse to support different options alive.

“As agelong arsenic you are still breathing, you are still tin of doing galore things. And erstwhile God takes thing distant from you, he will surely compensate you pinch different things,” he said.

A sister’s death

Noon Madani didn’t want to time off nan location that time successful August astir 3 years ago, but her older sister insisted. Paramilitary forces controlled her vicinity extracurricular Khartoum, but an overdue measure needed to beryllium paid.

On nan measurement home, a rocket killed her 18-year-old sister and crushed nan 16-year-old Madani’s legs.

Soft-spoken successful her wheelchair, her legs successful casts, she recalled looking astatine rocket fragments successful her sister’s caput arsenic she laic beside her, incapable to move.

“You can’t ideate erstwhile personification abruptly tells you that your daughters were deed by an artillery shell. You participate a shape of breakdown,” said their father, Omer Bakar.

Madani remained successful a infirmary for six months for surgeries, battling infections and sometimes waiting for a expert to beryllium recovered aft others fled.

Doctors opportunity she should beryllium capable to locomotion again. Her younger brothers instrumentality her to schoolhouse each day. She studies subject and dreams of becoming a doctor.

“We are trying to hide nan war,” her begetter said, “the nightmare we yet woke up from.”

Eight years old

When her location was struck successful February 2025, Fatma Ageb’s hubby was asleep. Her older daughters had conscionable discussed what to get their babe sister for her birthday. That was nan past point nan 38-year-old remembers of that day.

The shelling killed her hubby and their older daughters, 10 and 12. It pierced her assemblage pinch shrapnel and severely injured their 8-year-old.

“If it wasn’t for Zeinab I wouldn’t want to live. She’s ever calling for her sisters and father,” Ageb said, wiping tears from her cheeks.

The onslaught scarred her daughter’s look and she mislaid her correct eye. She wears a solid 1 successful its place.

Sitting beside her mother astatine a infirmary and wearing a necklace pinch a characteristic from nan movie “Frozen,” Zeinab shyly held up a drafting she made and winced successful symptom while a expert attended her wounds.

Friends and relatives pooled money for nan girl’s operations but she needs more, and her mother doesn’t cognize wherever she’ll find nan money.

While she tries to beryllium beardown for her daughter, Zeinab’s scars are a reminder of what they’ve lost.

A unpaid shaken

Tariq Abuzeid had spent years helping others, raising money to tally crockery kitchens retired of his location and distributing medicine to nan sick. When nan warfare came to Khartoum, nan building worker kept assisting people.

But successful December 2023, he was caught successful aggravated shelling aft distributing food. He mislaid his correct leg.

Surrounded by family, nan 52-year-old now tries to beryllium stoic, yet breaks down erstwhile he thinks astir really circumstances person changed.

“I utilized to service people. ... Now I consciousness for illustration I americium a burden,” he said.

The onslaught caused monolithic bleeding, which he said compromised his immune system. He takes dozens of pills a time but is still successful pain. He struggles to find a bully prosthetic and a wheelchair, not easy successful Khartoum.

And yet his unpaid activity continues. Large metallic bowls were stacked successful his gait arsenic he prepared to service others their adjacent meal.

Fleeing intersexual assault

By July nan hunger had go excessively overmuch to bear, truthful nan 50-year-old female fled nan besieged municipality of Dilling successful South Kordofan pinch her 2 daughters. But she says they were abducted by nan paramilitary RSF.

Hands bound, faces covered, they said they were driven for hours to a makeshift guidelines successful nan godforsaken pinch much than a twelve different women. The female said she was gang-raped location until she bled, and was beaten regularly for months.

The AP does not sanction group who person been sexually assaulted. The United Nations has called intersexual unit 1 of nan Sudan war’s “defining features.”

Each night, nan female would cringe proceeding fighters’ footsteps attack nan room wherever they were held. The men would constituent to nan female they wanted and return her away, she said.

When they came for her daughters, 25 and 20, she told them to return her instead.

One nighttime erstwhile nan fighters were out, she fled pinch her daughters into nan desert. Terrified and weak, they walked for days earlier uncovering thief successful different town.

The RSF did not respond to petition for comment.

Now they are successful a halfway for women successful Khartoum. Crying, she said a expert told her nan injuries from intersexual assaults were truthful bad that her uterus should beryllium removed.

Mednick, Abuelgasim and Armangue constitute for nan Associated Press.