“Bullets and grenades fly everywhere” – reports a reporter from Sudan

Hiba Morgan is a reporter for the Arab television network Al Jazeera. She has been writing about Sudan since 2009. And even now, in these difficult times, she reported on the current situation – directly from the war zone.

On the Reddit platform, the journalist writes that she is in a city (Khartoum) that is so dangerous that even “the United States is struggling to evacuate the Americans”. She says that “bullets and grenades are flying all over the place”.

But Hiba Morgan is not hiding. “Ask me what you want,” she continues. She even posts a photo of herself as “proof” that it’s really her answering the questions.

Here are the most important questions and answers from their coverage:

Is it “just” a power struggle or is there a deeper ideological conflict behind it?

It is an internal conflict fueled by regional and international interests. Both sides want to control Sudan’s resources. Different countries [zum Beispiel Russland] already have access to these resources. However, there is no clear evidence that these countries are involved, but they have supported and funded both parties in various forms. When the conflict started, both sides were ready with weapons and soldiers.

Was the rivalry between the two generals palpable in any way?

Yes, there were warning signs that the conflict was brewing: the RSF troop movements, the walls being built around the Army High Command and both sides contradicting each other again and again. They banded together to overthrow a civilian government, but things didn’t go as planned. They were unable to form a new government to replace the old one. It was only a question of when, not if, the conflict would begin.

How is the food and water situation for the people of Khartoum?

The situation is bad. There is no other way to express it. The people have had no running water or electricity for almost two weeks. The population has no access to banks, market prices are rising day by day and goods are slowly running out. Hospitals have been bombed and access to medical care is so difficult that patients with kidney failure or diabetes are dying.

Are the people of Sudan for or against a group or are they waiting for the war to finally end?

The people of Sudan have made it clear that this is not their war. It’s a power struggle that will end their hopes for democracy, no matter who wins in the end.

Are there social, ideological or ethnic components to this conflict, or is it purely a power struggle?

Khartoum is about the struggle for power and resources. The situation in Dafur is ethnic. Recent fighting in Darfur has seen houses of ethnic Darfuris set on fire, markets robbed and then set on fire. All this is very reminiscent of the war that has been raging for more than twenty years between the different ethnic groups in Darfur and the Sudanese government.

Other countries seem only interested in a ceasefire to evacuate their citizens. Why is that? Why don’t you get in and try to negotiate?

Negotiations have been attempted. So far, however, neither side has shown any willingness to negotiate. The commanders of the army and the paramilitary unit wanted to meet to avoid a confrontation, but that ultimately did not happen. There are many versions of who fired the first shots, but it was impossible to get the two sides to talk. That is why the focus is on ceasefire as the first step.

Is there any reason to believe that the current ceasefire will hold? Is it going all the way now?

The ceasefires are unstable. I would say they were held in the right places and at the right time to get the foreigners out. But the fighting never stopped. On Tuesday, when the ceasefire was due to come, a hospital was bombed. Today there were air strikes. So no, the ceasefire is not being enforced.

Are people safe at the airport? I mean the people waiting to go home.

There are currently no people at the airport. At least not at the main international airport. The airport through which people are evacuated is located in the east, 800 kilometers from the capital.

How can the international community help?

The international community must treat those now fleeing Sudan in the same way as those fleeing Ukraine. You must open safe routes for them and provide humanitarian aid. Many people in need of a new home have already fled the fighting.

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