Escaping Sennar: Sudanese civilians recount perilous journey on the run

The sound of sudden screaming marred with the rapid crackle of bullets did not surprise Suhaib Tariq, a lawyer and long-time resident of Sinjah, the capital of Sennar State, Sudan.

The fall of al-Jazirah State, 151 kilometres to the north, in December of last year, has left the more than one million residents of Sennar in a state of heightened tension.

Tariq had already prepared for the worst.

"Sennar was next. We all knew," he told The New Arab. "I only wish this day hadn't come so soon."

Rapid Support Forces (RSF) swept through Sennar on June 29 in what was described by analysts as a "blitzkrieg attack," storming Sinjah after overcoming Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) defences along a section of al-Jazirah-Sennar border at Jebel Moya.

The violent clashes that ensued between RSF and SAF saw indiscriminate aerial bombardment and gunning down of civilians trying to flee for their lives. The exact number of casualties is not known, but at least 1,000 civilians were killed or went missing during the attack, according to the Sennar Youth Gathering, a local resistance group.

Since late June, 136,000 civilians have fled Sennar State as fighting between SAF and RSF has escalated. Restrictions imposed by warring factions on major crossings further exacerbate civilian suffering, hindering movement and leading to widespread looting of personal belongings.

"After the RSF took over, the looting and the raping began," Tariq said. "I was trying to reach my family, but because of the communications blackout, I couldn't."

The journey to Kassala

He escaped with his brother's wife and children, with the hope that his mother, brother, and sister, who lived on the western side of Sinjah, would reunite with him. 

The journey to Kassala State, a relatively safer region north of Sinjah, was one filled with perils. Over six days on foot, he was chased by RSF vehicles, narrowly avoiding capture, while also surviving airstrikes and aerial bombardment. Accompanied by his sister-in-law and nephews, he battled heavy rains that made the journey even more arduous.

"When we finally reached Kassala, we had nothing to our names and not a dime to find shelter for and feed my brother's children," he told TNA. "I still can’t reach any of my family members that were left behind."

In the aftermath of the attack, the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network) reported a surge in sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) including rape against women in Sennar and Sinjah. For its part, the UN called for an independent investigation into the allegations and urged all parties to respect international humanitarian law.

Imad al-Din Bashir, a Sudanese legal expert, told TNA that the recent military operation has extended the reach of military activities to include previously declared safe zones. This puts the lives of hundreds of thousands of vulnerable civilians, including women, children, and the elderly.

"This attack has resulted in the destruction of civilian property, imposed restrictions on their movement, and violated their basic human rights," he said, adding that crimes committed by RSF soldiers include killings, torture, looting, and the loss of livelihood and property for the affected individuals.

Surviving the Blue Nile River

The attack on Sennar took residents of Dinder, located 25 kilometres from Sinjah, aback. The city was soon overwhelmed with displaced people, mostly women and children, who had fled Sinjah. Fearing an attack on their town, residents of Dindar, in turn, began to escape.

Omar Ahmed, a pseudonym for security reasons, a merchant and resident of Dindar, recounted how he and his family prepared to leave for al-Qadarif, a town that is 413 kilometres from Sinjah. But when the time came to go, his elderly father refused to leave, forcing him to stay behind.

"The next morning, the RSF stormed the city, engaging in looting, killing, and beatings," he said. "I convinced my father that we either leave or die. We then rushed to the narrow Dinder River bridge, looking for a way out of the town."

With thousands attempting to leave town and hundreds of cars congesting the entrance, the bridge became a tight bottleneck, resulting in frequent stampedes. Omar and his elderly father had to cross the Dindar River, an offshoot of the Blue Nile. 

"I saw several people drown. Others fell from the bridge when crowds rushed to the bridge," he said. "RSF soldiers did not leave the people be. They swiftly turned over cars, looted homes, and raped women."

The duo struggled but eventually swam across to safety, but upstream near al-Dubaibah, many internally displaced people were not as fortunate. At least 25 people, mostly women and children, tragically drowned in the Blue Nile River on 4 July, while fleeing clashes when a wooden boat capsized.

For over seven hours, Omar and his father travelled among the masses of fleeing people, eventually finding temporary respite in a remote village before continuing their displacement. They were lucky to catch a ride on a truck filled with other escapees, which stopped over out of compassion for his elderly father.

Before the recent escalation in clashes, Sennar, Singa, and El Dinder localities were already hosting around 286,000 displaced individuals, primarily from Khartoum or El Gezira. As a result, people displaced from Sennar may be undergoing secondary or tertiary displacement, according to OCHA.

In Sennar, Medical aid agency MSF reported that the last remaining hospital in the area with surgical capacity was attacked by the RSF on Friday. Local emergency response room volunteers have also indicated that other medical facilities have come under fire.

Although SAF eventually repelled the attack, community leader Muhand Arabi said that the humanitarian crisis is extremely dire due to continuous waves of displacement in fear of a second attack. Numerous families have crossed the Blue Nile River towards al-Qadarif, with the exodus persisting as people trek eastward on muddy roads amidst heavy rainfall. Communication and internet services are also disrupted, exacerbating the situation further.

"The conditions in Sinjah are deteriorating rapidly," Arabi reported, "Health facilities in Sennar are grappling with power cuts and fuel shortages, while Mayerno, a major town hosting displaced individual, has been without electricity for over a week."

This article is published in collaboration with Egab.