Too Many Ways to Die: Inside Sudan’s Forgotten War
Source: slguardian.org
s the sun sets over the charred remains of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, Salma Ahmad al-Obeid finds herself grieving the brutal death of her son while her young daughter, Ghaytha’a, struggles to survive injuries sustained in the same attack. The death of Mohammed, her six-year-old son, was swift and violent—struck down in an instant by a shell that shattered their home and upended their lives.
The violence that has gripped Sudan since the war erupted in April 2023 shows no signs of abating. More than 150,000 people are now confirmed dead, and over 11 million have been displaced. Yet, the scale of the devastation cannot be fully captured by these numbers alone. The Times UK reports that a staggering 90% of war casualties remain unaccounted for due to the difficulty in documenting deaths in areas where both sides of the conflict are fighting tooth and nail for control.
Salma, who has found a semblance of refuge in the overwhelmed Al-Naw hospital, recounts the tragedy that struck her family. “We were hiding in the basement when we heard the shelling. Ghaytha’a screamed, ‘mummy, mummy,’ as she lay injured. Then we saw Mohammed. His head, his arm—gone.” The expression of a mother’s grief cannot be understated, but it’s the helplessness she feels that leaves the deepest scars.
In Sudan, mothers like Salma bear witness to the unspeakable every day: their children crushed by shrapnel, buried under rubble, or left to die of starvation. Yet, despite the overwhelming pain, the fight for survival continues. Ghaytha’a, though wounded and suffering, is alive—and for Salma, that is a miracle in itself. The recovery at the hospital, however, is far from guaranteed, with limited medical supplies and staff stretched beyond capacity. More than 60 to 70 percent of Sudan’s healthcare infrastructure has been destroyed, leaving hospitals like Al-Naw to manage an ever-growing influx of patients with dwindling resources.
The horrors are not confined to Khartoum alone. Entire regions of the country have been turned into battlefields where civilians face bombings, executions, and brutal reprisals. The lack of adequate resources to care for the injured is exacerbated by the collapse of local government institutions, further heightening the human cost of this conflict. Thousands of children, like Ghaytha’a, suffer from malnutrition, and a generation of young Sudanese is growing up amidst violence and deprivation.
Beyond the immediate toll of the war, the long-term implications are even more dire. Sudan, a country rich in resources and culture, now finds itself on the brink of collapse. Economic institutions are in freefall, and international aid efforts have been hampered by the violence. The Times UK has highlighted the severe strain on humanitarian organizations, who are struggling to navigate the fractured political landscape and deliver aid to the millions who need it most.
The international community remains largely silent in the face of the crisis. Though the United Nations and various humanitarian groups have tried to offer support, the sheer magnitude of the destruction makes it almost impossible to make a significant impact. Many refugees have fled into neighboring countries like Chad, Egypt, and Ethiopia, but they too are overwhelmed by the flood of displaced persons.
As the war drags on, Sudan’s future grows increasingly uncertain. Salma’s grief is shared by countless others, who have lost everything—homes, loved ones, and any semblance of normalcy. And while the death toll continues to rise, the war’s cruelest aspect is the uncertainty of who will live to see another day. For Salma, the hope lies in the survival of Ghaytha’a, but even this hope is fraught with fear, as each day brings new challenges to overcome.
In this environment, where death is constant and fear is a companion, the stories of those like Salma shine a light on the human resilience and the unyielding fight for survival that defines the people of Sudan. But it is also a stark reminder of the broader cost of war—the destruction of a nation, the lives forever altered, and the loss of innocence that will haunt generations to come.
