Khartoum returnees face power cuts, shortages and unexploded weapons

Many people returning to Khartoum after fleeing Sudan’s war are finding that the capital remains difficult and dangerous to live in, with prolonged power and water cuts, scarce jobs, damaged buildings and limited access to medicine.

About four million people left Khartoum after fighting began between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in 2023. An estimated 2.7 million have since returned following the army’s recapture of the capital.

The army encouraged residents to go back, rebuilt the airport for domestic flights and repaired parts of the city’s infrastructure. Sudanese charities also worked to restore hospitals. But essential services remain unreliable, and many residents have little income to meet daily needs.

Basic services remain unreliable

Electricity and water can still be unavailable for days at a time. Markets have reopened, but many people remain unemployed and have limited money to spend.

Health workers said some hospitals are in better condition than before after reconstruction efforts. However, physician Haifa Omar said shortages continued to affect patients.

“Some things just aren’t available,” Omar said, adding that hospitals sometimes have to ask patients to purchase medicines themselves despite the financial pressure on households.

Imam Babiker, a 34-year-old college professor, said he visited 10 pharmacies to find blood-pressure medicine for his father, with prices changing from one day to the next. He also said electricity outages lasting about 12 hours a day had caused insulin kept for his diabetic mother to spoil.

Souad Mohamed, 49, said looters stole her refrigerator and that she could not afford another one. “So now I have to buy vegetables and meat every day, and the price goes up every day,” she said.

Security concerns complicate returns

The condition of the city is also affected by the presence of unexploded shells and booby-traps. Children have been killed and injured by the devices, according to the source report.

By June, the United Nations had declared only one percent of Khartoum safe. The source report did not provide the criteria used for that assessment.

Return patterns have varied across the capital. Working-class neighbourhoods have received the largest numbers of returnees, while many people with the means to remain elsewhere have stayed away. Khartoum 2, an upscale district, has been described as largely abandoned, with damaged villas and other buildings.

Nearly half a million Sudanese have returned from neighbouring Egypt, where 1.5 million Sudanese sought shelter. The source report said people there faced rising living costs, racial persecution, arrests and deportations.

Some families leave again

For some returnees, the conditions have prompted another departure. Businessman Emad Khaled, 43, told Agence France-Presse that he was sending his family back to Egypt while remaining in Khartoum for work.

“Bringing my family back was a mistake,” he said.

Thuraya Babiker, 86, said she, her husband and her youngest daughter were leaving for the United Arab Emirates three months after returning to Khartoum. “We don’t want to leave,” she said, but added that the lack of medical care made staying impossible.

Government officials have also reportedly sent their families outside Sudan. Fighting between the army and the RSF continues in Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile, adding to uncertainty for civilians attempting to rebuild their lives in the capital.