Khartoum: Destroyed buildings, cars covered in ash tell horrors of war in Sudan capital

The Sudanese capital Khartoum has suffered widespread destruction, the extent of which only became clear when the army seized full control of the city from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in March  after access to the city was regained following the Armed Forces’ recapture of the city in March.

Ayman Ibrahim, a journalist from The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed,, said the city’s centre  where banks, television and radio buildings, government offices and the Presidential Place are located, had been particularly hit.

Gunfire and airstrikes have turned the city’s buildings black and grey, with vehicles burned and overturned on the sides of roads, many covered in ash.

While movement in and around the city has increased slowly Khartoum appears like a ghost town with the exception of security officers and guards returning to government buildings.

Severe destruction is also visible in the Jabal Awliya area, from which the RSF paramilitaries were last expelled from the Khartoum area. Cars and homes lie destroyed and burned, along with many overturned military vehicles and burned-out fuel trucks.

The Ministry of Interior in south Khartoum also bears signs of destruction and damage, with large sections of the building’s walls collapsed. Holes caused by gunfire and shooting are also visible in the building’s remaining walls.

Buildings such as the armoured corps’ headquarters, the General Command and the Presidential Palace were also significantly impacted by gunfire exchanges.

Al-Araby Al-Jadeed also noted that the capital is overflowing with makeshift burial grounds as Khartoum’s cemeteries became full due the number of those killed by the brutal war, which began in April 2023.

Sudanese resorted to burying their loved ones in public spaces and roadsides amid the intensity of the conflict.

The RSF paramilitaries lost control of the city in March, following a months-long operation by the Sudanese army, as well as the neighbouring cities of Khartoum Bahri and Omdurman, which were taken over the army with a final offensive in May.

The army forced the RSF to withdraw across the Jabal Awliya Dam Bridge, south of Khartoum, heading west toward Omdurman, before their expulsion from the entirety of Khartoum state.

The battle of Khartoum is said to be the longest in African history focused on a single city, and among the deadliest in Sudanese and African history.

The Sudanese conflict was triggered by a power struggle between RSF commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti and Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah Burhan.

It caused one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises and at least 150,000 people have been killed. Rights organisations say the number is likely to be much higher.

The conflict has also triggered a widespread famine, impacting millions of Sudanese, especially children. An estimated 522,000 children have already died from starvation, the Sudan Tribune has reported.

Sexual violence has also been rife during the Sudanese civil war. Women have accused RSF paramilitaries of carrying out rape and sexual assaults and forcing people into slavery.

Subscribe now to Inside MENA

Subscribe now