With a dramatic escalation in the war in Sudan between the army and paramilitaries, my family buried my 84-year-old grandmother while bullets were flying over their heads at a graveyard in Omdurman – just across the River Nile from Khartoum.My grandmother was diabetic and her blood pressure fell, but we were unable to take her for treatment as Omdurman – where millions of people still live, despite a massive exodus out of the city – has only one functioning hospital, with the rest ransacked or hijacked by fighters.It only admits patients wounded in the war, and there are many of them – bullets, bombs and shells rain down every day in residential neighbourhoods. As a result, sick people are no longer receiving hospital treatment in Omdurman.Without treatment my grandmother declined swiftly.We wanted to bury her next to my grandfather – her husband – who died in 2005, but that cemetery is near the Central Reserve Police unit. So the area sees constant battles, with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) trying to take control of the police base.
We took her body to another cemetery in a more peaceful area, but on that day heavy battles were raging on opposite sides of the graveyard.The few relatives who went to bury her had to lie on the ground to duck the bullets, and used a quiet moment to lower my grandmother into her grave. It took them about six hours to leave the cemetery, as the gun-battles were ferocious, subsiding only around sunset.Most of my grandmother’s relatives remained behind at her home – and they too had to huddle together in rooms when heavy shooting erupted in the neighbourhood, lasting several hours.But we were lucky to bury her at a cemetery, other people have laid to rest their loved ones at their homes.The violinist Khalid Sanhouri was buried by his brother and neighbour in front of his house in al-Molazmeen, a neighbourhood in the old part of Omdurman.In his 40s, he was diabetic and, according to his family, died after not eating for days, as there was no food in the house and it was too dangerous to go out because of heavy fighting.Most people had fled the neighbourhood, and shops were shut. He was among the few who stayed behind.Old Omdurman – where Sanhouri lived – is very badly affected by the conflict, as the army and RSF constantly fight for control of the bridges that lead to Khartoum and Bahri city.
There are frequent air strikes and heavy shelling in the area. Dozens of residents have been killed, and many homes and businesses have been reduced to rubble.
