The war in Sudan

The war has turned Khartoum into a ghost town

The war in Sudan has been going on for three years. Tens of thousands of people have died and millions have been forced to flee, reports the AP. Many of those who have survived and fled show the scars of the war in the form of scars and amputations.

The capital Khartoum has been transformed into a ghost town with makeshift graves and streets covered in empty shells, shrapnel and unexploded ammunition.

Tariq Abuzeid spent years raising money to run a soup kitchen from his home and provide medicine to the sick. But after being caught in the middle of shelling in 2023, his right leg had to be amputated.

“I used to help people. Now I feel like a burden,” he says.

Almost three years later, he is still living with the consequences of the injury. His immune system is compromised and he has had difficulty obtaining a prosthesis and a wheelchair. Despite that, he has continued his volunteer work and still serves food from his backyard.

Dream crushed: “It was my destiny”

Omer al-Toum dreamed of representing Sudan on the national soccer team. But the dream was crushed by the bloody war in Sudan when an explosive device exploded in his home last fall. He was forced to amputate one leg and one arm, reports the AP.

“When I saw that my leg had been amputated, I understood that it was my destiny,” he says.

But even though the dream of a soccer career has disappeared, he has found a new dream off the field, to become a soccer coach.

“As long as you are still breathing, you can do many things. And when God takes something from you, he will also give you something else in its place,” he says.