With temperatures soaring to more than 40C at this time of the year, I normally sleep outside in my garden, but I am too scared to do that now, as fighter jets hover over my home in Sudan’s Omdurman city – despite the latest ceasefire.
I live with my mother and siblings in the centre of Omdurman, just over the River Nile from the capital, Khartoum.
The fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is all around us – to our north, south, east and west.
Fortunately, it has not reached our area.
But the army’s fighter jets are a constant reminder that Sudan is now in a state of war. I cannot get used to their terrifying sound.
We are forced to stay indoors most of the time, as we just do not know what will happen.
From morning to evening, ceasefire or no ceasefire, they fly past our neighbourhood, coming from the same military airport from where foreign nationals have been evacuated, and heading towards Khartoum to strike at positions of the RSF.
From all the reports I have received, most of Khartoum is controlled by RSF fighters, with hardly any army soldiers – or police officers – on the streets.
The RSF fires anti-aircraft artillery to try and bring down the fighter jets, but I am not aware of any aircraft that has been shot down.
Three days ago, some of the projectiles landed in an open field in my neighbourhood. Luckily, they missed a nearby mosque and homes.
The RSF has its origins in the war that broke out in Darfur two decades ago, and is made up of the Janjaweed militiamen who helped the government crush a rebellion there.
It had around 20,000 men before the fall of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir in 2019, but has since turned into a force with an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 fighters. —BBC
