– I don’t feel safe anymore, I’m scared all the time. Most of the women I know have fled, at least those who have the opportunity, Tayser tells news. The 24-year-old has lived in Khartoum with his parents and siblings all his life. When the war broke out, she was in her sixth and final year of medical school. Now it is uncertain whether he will ever be able to complete his studies and formally become a doctor. STUDENT: Tayser (24) was for a long time one of the few who did not flee, hoping to take his final exam at medical school. Photo: Privat When the brutal battles between the government army and the paramilitary force RSF broke out in April, all the universities and public institutions in the country closed. But in the hope that the university would reopen, Tayser stayed in Khartoum, while neighbors and friends fled. Seven months later, the university is still closed. The study’s last exam and the doctor’s room are now quite far away. VOLUNTEER: Tayser and his fellow students have volunteered at a health center in Khartoum while the war has been ravaging the streets outside. Photo: Private – We are at a loss for words – We continue to call the situation terrible and gloomy. But honestly speaking, we run out of words to describe the horror of what is happening in Sudan. That’s what Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, said at a press conference last week. Among other things, she pointed to reports of young girls being raped in front of their mothers. – What is happening is bordering on pure evil. The conflict in Sudan The people of Sudan took to the streets in 2019 and rebelled against the defunct regime. Among other things, they protested against inflation and the tripling of bread prices. Outrage led to President Omar al-Bashir being deposed by a military junta. An agreement was made between the protest movement and the military junta, and a transitional government was formed. For a short period the people were filled with hope. But the transitional government was deposed by a military coup. The military coup was a collaboration between the government army SAF and the paramilitary force RSF. On 15 April this year, however, the two military forces began to fight against each other. Both militaries have been prominent players in the country, the RSF in the west and the SAF in the east, and both want to be in power. None of the forces have particular support among the people, but the RSF has been the most violent in the battles, and is seen as the worst alternative. The war between the two militaries has hit civilians hard, especially in Khartoum and Darfur, cities that have turned into bloody war zones. At the beginning of November, the RSF carried out an ethnic massacre against the Masalit people in western Darfur, where between 800 and 1,300 people were killed, according to a report from the UN. People are said to have been exposed to torture, sexual violence and blackmail. 20,000 fled the area to neighboring Chad. In total, over 5 million Sudanese have fled their homes within the country, and over a million have fled to neighboring countries. FROM SUDAN: Drone footage from this summer shows hundreds of tents set up on a large field in Adre in Chad. Photo: ZOHRA BENSEMRA / Reuters In addition to looting, attacks on civilian homes and institutions, sexual violence has troubled aid organizations around the world. – It is horrible. We constantly hear about sexual abuse of women and girls. Even people we know, says Tayser. Rape as a weapon of war UN reports show that it is primarily RSF soldiers who use sexual violence in their warfare, and that they use rape as a tool to terrorize and punish the people. But there have also been cases where the government army has done the same. At the beginning of November, the UN expressed concern about the situation in Darfur, where the RSF is steadily gaining more territory. Women and girls are said to have been kidnapped by RSF soldiers and held in “slave-like conditions”. Witnesses are said to have observed women chained to trucks. Liv Tønessen, researcher and Sudan expert at Christian Michelsen’s institute, says that the topic is very taboo, and that few dare to report sexual violence: – It is particularly powerful in Sudan, which is a conservative country. It is based on the idea that women should be virgins when they get married. Being raped by a man who is not your husband is unfortunately taboo and associated with stigma and shame, says Tønessen. ON THE FLIGHT: Over a million Sudanese have left their homes and fled to neighboring countries. Photo: AP Negotiations to no avail Right now it all looks bleak for the Sudanese people. The US and Saudi Arabia have held several peace talks since April. The parties have several times agreed on cease-fires, but none of them have been maintained. Liv Tønessen believes that civil actors must be included in the negotiations, and not just the two warring parties. – There are men with weapons who get a seat around the table. They will discuss peace. But the discussion is about how they should distribute the cake, says the Sudan researcher. GHOST CITY: Khartoum is called a “ghost city” after millions are said to have fled the city. Photo: AFP Fear replaced by grief Medical student Tayser does not want either the RSF or the government army to gain power, and feels completely powerless. A few weeks ago she decided to run away. She and her mother took a bus to visit relatives in South Sudan. On the 13-hour bus journey, they were stopped about ten times by RSF soldiers, she says. According to Tayser, they asked for money from them, checked their luggage, and harassed them. Arriving in South Sudan, the fear is less, but replaced by a great sadness at having left their homeland. – I thought it would be easy to travel, but I feel sad, completely miserable. When we arrived at our relatives, I was tired, sad and overwhelmed. It looks like everything will get worse, not better. – I know that I may never get to go back there. And if I do get to go back, it is not certain that I will return to the Khartoum I left from.
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– On the verge of pure evil – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
