After more than two years of brutal conflict, displaced families are beginning to return to Sudan’s capital, Khartoum — a city scarred by war and facing years of costly reconstruction.
The fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which erupted in April 2023, turned Khartoum into the epicentre of destruction. Thousands fled as homes and infrastructure were reduced to rubble.
Now, with the army declaring control of the city earlier this year, residents are slowly coming back. But for many, the return has been heartbreaking.
“We lost everything,” said Afaf al-Tayeb, who returned to her Al-Qawz home in June only to find her belongings looted. “They left us nothing except the clothes we are wearing.”
Her son, Mohamed al-Khedr, added: “A shell hit the house and burnt everything.”
Officials say the damage is vast. “The destruction has completely affected the electric infrastructure,” said Khartoum province spokesperson Altayeb Saad al-Din, noting that major substations and transformers were looted or destroyed.
The United Nations projects that up to 2 million people could return to Khartoum by the end of the year, though rebuilding the city will cost billions.
Nationwide, the war has displaced more than 12 million people and claimed at least 40,000 lives, leaving Sudan to grapple with one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
