A Journey of Escape through Death and Chaos
Nasr al-Din al-Fadlabi
Our journey from the Jabrah neighborhood, adjacent to the armored vehicles, to the Darduq area east of Bahri was fraught with danger and hideous scenery. This remote suburb, which under normal circumstances we would reach in a maximum of 45 minutes, took exactly 13 hours on that bleak day.
We left Jabrah to the roar of artillery and the hooves of armored vehicles preparing for battle. The sounds of armored vehicles are difficult for a persons confidence and steadfastness, and the sights of them plundering the land, stirring up dust and terror, are cruel, destroying the last shred of certainty of citizens as they embark on a collective escape.
The road was fraught with danger, with Rapid Support Forces (RSF) presence along its edges, checkpoints, and questions aimed not at obtaining answers, but at provoking and arousing the ire of those "escaping" the horrors of war and its blazing flames.
Perhaps the most provocative and persistent question at every checkpoint was: "Why did you leave your homes?"
Before you can answer this strange question, the answer comes from the questioner himself: "These are the army guys who told you to go out so we can strike those people with airstrikes, right?"
Here, silence is the best answer, because any other response could lead to arrest, beating, or even verbal abuse, as the lightest punishment.
We reached the outskirts of the central market on our way to the Soba Bridge, the only outlet to the other side of the river. Fighting was raging around all the bridges in the Triangle Capital, a bone-breaking battle for control of the outlets.
Perhaps Gods will and mercy created an outlet for the fugitives via the Soba Bridge, which at the time was devoid of any military presence and welcomed the mass escapees with open arms and hospitality.
The central market was awash with "creative chaos": massive looting of shops, markets, and restaurants, and a group of merchants racing against time as they carried their goods away from their warehouses to avoid the thieves and the residents of the streets, public roads, sewers, and wells.
We reached the Soba University Hospital after passing through more than 15 Rapid Support Forces checkpoints. There, we witnessed the astonishment: how the largest referral hospital in Sudan was out of service, with thieves emerging from its interior carrying medical equipment, unaware of its value or its function or importance.
On our way to the Soba Bridge, we witnessed the replacement of urban life and demographics with chaos, theft, human rights violations, and gratuitous death.
