Restoring Rights And Redressing Grievances: The Path To Addressing The Devastating Effects Of War

PortSudan, (Sudanow)_ Uncle Azhari hurried toward his home, pushing a dardaga (an iron handcart with three wheels) laden with food and water. These were meals he collected from the General Complex of Al-Burhaniya Al-Disuqiya Al-Shaziliya Sufi order to distribute to his elderly and sick neighbors who were stranded in the Eastern Al-Deyoum area of central Khartoum since the outbreak of the war. Most residents of the neighborhood had left, but these vulnerable individuals, along with some who chose to stay in their homes for fear of potential violations during their escape, remained.

Uncle Azhari walked quickly, stumbling occasionally, as he was over seventy years old. Despite his frailty, he maintained his routine, leaving his home in the morning, pushing his cart, loading it with food and water, and returning to distribute it to his neighbors. He would repeat this in the afternoon to provide them with lunch. He had been making this journey, more than four kilometers round trip, for the past two years.
He understood the plight of his neighbors who awaited the food he brought them. They were helpless and had no means to transport themselves to safer areas away from the hellish existence amidst the militia that had subjected them to bitter suffering, humiliation, degradation, oppression, and the violation of their sanctity and dignity.

On that particular day, Uncle Azhari was significantly delayed. Each time he approached their area, a group of rebel militia elements would intercept him, take his food, and beat him, forcing him to return to the complex and reload his "dardaga" with food. This time, he managed to get much closer to his home, but suddenly, a group of militia members appeared, seized him, and tied him with ropes. He stumbled and fell to the ground, but they dragged him on his face and then threw him into one of the sewage wells. A neighbor saw him and tried to dissuade them from throwing him in, but they also threw the neighbor into the well. Two young men, who were waiting for the food Uncle Azhari was bringing, witnessed this incident. The militia had forbidden them from leaving their home, so they were hiding and observing the events from behind their door. They were shocked by what happened to Uncle Azhari, as they had lived in the neighborhood since their childhood, and he was their kind neighbor who treated them like his own sons. They waited for a while until the criminals moved away and tried to rescue them, but the militia members returned and threw both young men into the well as well, firing heavily into the well.
From behind closed doors, the residents of the neighborhood watched what was happening. They could do nothing, as what the militia had done in "Al-Deyoum" area after the army approached to liberate the region was unprecedented in human history. Just a few days prior, a group of them had slaughtered four young men who were working at "Dim Al-Qana" soup kitchen, providing food to needy and vulnerable residents of the neighborhood. They slaughtered them without batting an eyelid. The residents of the neighborhood waited until those villains left, then called out to each other and tried to rescue them. Finally, they managed to rescue Uncle Azhari's neighbor (Abu Jiqa) and one of the young men. Uncle Azhari and the other young man died at the bottom of the sewage well. The residents of the neighborhood tried in vain to rescue them, but there were no tools available to reach and save them.

The area was horrified by this heinous crime, and the residents were deeply saddened by the brutal killing of the innocents. However, they were powerless to act, as the militia's assaults and retaliatory campaigns had escalated, targeting elderly women and disabled men by beating them and breaking their bones with iron pestles, and raping women and girls. This led many to flee the neighborhood, with attempts starting in the last third of the night. Some succeeded in leaving the neighborhood, while those who fell into the hands of the militia were either shot or slaughtered like animals.
Professor Muhannad Abdalgadir (Djangou), one of Al-Deyoum's social activists, stated that the violations and crimes suffered by the people of Eastern Al-Deyoum have been monitored and documented, classifying them as war crimes and crimes against humanity. He explained that Eastern Al-Deyoum, which comprises more than ten neighborhoods, had received displaced residents from Al-Sajjana, Al-Rmaila, Al-Aamarat, and Al-Hilla Al-Jadida neighborhoods. He said that the militia stole everything in the area, including homes and cars, and arrested a large number of Al-Deyoum's residents, some of whom died in detention centers. He added that they opened markets in the area to sell stolen goods. He further stated that after the army advanced into central Khartoum, a group of mercenary militia members from South Sudan, from Tuti Island, and the Radio station retreated and began carrying out retaliatory campaigns against citizens. They prevented residents from leaving, using them as human shields, and also deliberately starved them. He noted that the General Complex of the Burhaniya Sufi Order, the Al-Azmiya Sufi Order Mosque, and expatriates from Al-Deyoum area, which includes several neighborhoods, were supporting the takkas (soup kitchens) that provided food. However, the militia targeted the volunteers running these takkas with killings and beatings, and prevented citizens from reaching food distribution points, thereby starving the residents in addition to torturing them with all kinds of torment.

Eyewitnesses who experienced what happened there and the violations they endured, which affected all present-the elderly, women, children, and unarmed youth-stated that no one was spared. This applied to all areas entered by this treacherous militia.
Retired Security Major General Abdalkarim Abdallah stated that: according to UN reports, documented incidents, and military expert reports, the war of April 15, 2023, is not, as falsely promoted by the misleading narratives of the UAE and the Janjaweed militia (as it is known) and the Sudanese politicians behind them, a conflict between two generals over power. Instead, he asserted that it is a project to dismantle Sudan, implemented with international planning and Emirati funding. Elements from 17 countries with interests and ambitions in the country's wealth were used, committing unprecedented crimes against humanity that destroyed crops and livestock, shattered essential services infrastructure for electricity, education, and health, violated sacred spaces, humiliated Sudanese people, and displaced millions inside and outside the country.
He added that the use of the militia as a tool in this war to implement the international plan was due to the nature of that militia. Their formation was on an ethnic basis, being a group of Arab diaspora or Janjaweed whose culture in conflict and war relies on the psychological and social breakdown and destruction of the enemy. This is a characteristic evident in all their conflicts, even previous ones, through retaliatory campaigns and brutal assaults that extend beyond killings and looting to include the killing of children, the rape of women, the burning of buildings, and the destruction of everything. This is what happened in Sudan and has been documented by official authorities in the Sudanese government, UN reports, human rights activists, and even the self-documentation of some militia members regarding their crimes.
Khartoum, the capital, and most areas controlled by the treacherous militia have been liberated. However, the war has left behind devastating consequences that will be difficult to address and may extend for many years until Sudanese people recover from or are freed from these effects. Emancipation from these effects remains contingent on the restoration of rights, as what has been taken from the Sudanese people cannot be compensated with money, and what Sudan lost was systematic destruction targeting the country's capabilities and people. Those lives that were extinguished will find peace when their revenge is taken, and Sudan will return stronger than it was, for it has not and will not be defeated or broken.

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