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El-Geneina’s struggle: Life amid Sudan war and humanitarian challenges
TL;DR
El-Geneina, Sudan, is facing a humanitarian crisis as the Faculty of Medicine is now sheltering displaced people. Zainab, a survivor of a SAF attack, lost three children and her husband amid the ongoing conflict.
Key points
- El-Geneina is sheltering displaced people from Sudan's conflict.
- Zainab lost three children in a SAF attack on June 26, 2024.
- She was a nurse in Omdurman before fleeing the violence.
- Her husband, a police officer, has disappeared amid the chaos.
Mentioned in this story
El-GeneinaOmdurmanSudanese Armed Forces
El-Geneina, Sudan – The lecture halls of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of el-Geneina have been turned into shelters for people displaced from elsewhere in Sudan.
Zainab, who did not wish to give her full name, is sitting among them, holding two of her surviving three children.
She once had six. But three of them were killed after what she says was a June 26, 2024, Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) attack on her home in Omdurman, part of the wider region of Khartoum – the capital of Sudan.
“We were targeted even though there were no Rapid Support Forces or checkpoints nearby,” Zainab said in a low voice. “I lost three of my children.”
Zainab was once a nurse in Omdurman, while her husband was a police officer. He disappeared in the chaos of the battle in the city that they fled from.
After abandoning Omdurman, she initially sought shelter in the college halls where Al Jazeera met her, before moving on to a small hut she built herself on the campus grounds.
She describes her home in simple terms – a cooking area with two pots, a small bedroom with a mattress on the ground where two of her daughters sleep and a bed for another daughter and her niece, while she sleeps outside the hut.
“We are relying on God. I have three daughters with me here; they need food, clothes, and drink, and all of this is not available,” Zainab said. “All the families here in the camp suffer from the same problems. Until now, there is no official organisation we rely on. Sometimes, kind people come and give us things, but it’s not enough.”
Two of Zainab’s daughters still carry injuries from the attack, with shrapnel embedded under their skin. She hopes to have them treated, but the cost is prohibitive.
“The doctor at El-Geneina Teaching Hospital told me both of them need surgery costing two thousand dollars,” she said.
Housing units within the IDP camp [Al Jazeera]
El-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur in the west of Sudan, is currently under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been fighting a devastating civil war with the SAF – which controls Khartoum – since April 2023.
The RSF took control of el-Geneina in late 2023, after what the United Nations has described as “some of the worst violence of the war” committed by RSF fighters and allied groups. UN officials and human rights investigators have described the violence, which targeted members of the non-Arab Masalit tribe, as “ethnically motivated” and “possible crimes against humanity”.
Q&A
What happened during the June 26, 2024, SAF attack in Omdurman?
The June 26, 2024, attack by the Sudanese Armed Forces resulted in the deaths of Zainab's three children and forced many families to flee their homes.
How has the war in Sudan affected El-Geneina's population?
The ongoing war has led to significant displacement, with many people seeking shelter in places like the Faculty of Medicine at the University of El-Geneina.
Who is Zainab and what is her story in the context of the Sudan conflict?
Zainab is a displaced mother from Omdurman who lost three children to an SAF attack and is now seeking refuge in El-Geneina.
What are the humanitarian challenges faced by displaced people in El-Geneina?
Displaced individuals in El-Geneina are struggling with inadequate shelter, loss of family members, and the chaos resulting from the ongoing conflict.
