Sudan’s descent into chaos shatters illusion of safety for war-weary Syrians

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Updated 04 May 2023
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Sudan’s descent into chaos shatters illusion of safety for war-weary Syrians

  • Sudan was a sanctuary for thousands of Syrians driven out of their country by violence during civil war
  • Between 2014 and 2019, Sudan welcomed some 300,000 Syrians, allowing them visa-free entry

LONDON: From the beginning of the protracted conflict pitting the regime against its opponents, Syrians fled their country in droves. Some risked life and limb to smuggle themselves and their families out of Syria over land, by sea, or any other routes available to them.

Since 2014, hundreds of thousands of Syrians from diverse ethnic backgrounds have managed to escape the violence and atrocities of the civil war by moving to foreign countries.

For Syrians who had just begun to find a new, stable life in Sudan — where they had hoped that violence and destruction would become a thing of the past — the eruption of fighting, looting and displacement in the North African country seems proof that the specter of war will follow them across borders.




People fleeing war-torn Sudan queue to board a boat from Port Sudan on April 28, 2023. (AFP)

On April 15, simmering enmity between the Sudanese Armed Forces, commanded by Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, reached boiling point.

Both sides accused each other of starting the clashes that would soon overwhelm many of Sudan’s cities and towns, and in particular, the capital Khartoum.

As the fighting between the army and the RSF in Khartoum intensified, 15 Syrians were killed within the first few days, according to diplomatic sources, and thousands found themselves forced to flee their country of refuge.

“Displacement is a word that has been haunting many Syrians of late,” Tarek Alabed, a Syrian physician who used to live in Khartoum, told Arab News.

“A few days ago, I was forced to flee the capital, Khartoum, to Port Sudan on the Red Sea in preparation for evacuation,” he said, describing an “agonizing” scene there.

“Dozens of buses arrived daily, carrying mostly Syrians.”

Referring to a sight that saddened him, Alabed said: “Syrians accounted for the smallest number of evacuees.”

According to him, “only 40 out of over 2,000 people” boarding the ships on Friday were Syrian.

“It was as if war finds us wherever we go,” he said.




Evacuees stand on a ferry as it transports some 1900 people across the Red Sea from Port Sudan to the Saudi King Faisal navy base in Jeddah, on April 29, 2023, during mass evacuations from Sudan. (AFP file)

Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement through the Syrian Arab News Agency on April 26, saying that it was “following with great concern the situation of Syrians residing in Sudan.”

The ministry added that it had “made contacts with brotherly and friendly countries to assist in the evacuation process,” highlighting that Saudi Arabia had enabled the departure of hundreds of Syrians from the eastern city of Port Sudan.

“Not many Syrians remain. Most of those whom I know have left,” said Ayham, a Syrian who said he worked in foam manufacturing in Sudan and declined to be identified by his full name.

FASTFACTS

90,000+ Syrian refugees who lived in Khartoum and other parts of Sudan (2021 UN).

300,000 Syrians who moved to Sudan between 2014 and 2019.

200 Syrian Kurdish families reportedly living in Khartoum.

Ayham, who arrived in Khartoum in 2017 along with other young male compatriots trying to escape compulsory military service, said many Syrians expect the situation to further deteriorate, leading to massive waves of evacuees.

“The clashes are taking place where the largest proportion of the Syrian community is concentrated, such as the Kafouri district of Bahri, which has an RSF base,” Ayham said.

“There is also a substantial Syrian community in the Riyadh district, where clashes also erupted, forcing most of them to vacate their homes.”

The Syrian Embassy in Khartoum had estimated the Syrian population in Sudan at 30,000 people, the second largest non-Sudanese community, exceeded only by Yemenis, according to Alabed, the physician.




Syria President Bashar Assad’s crackdown on protesters in 2011 and the subsequent civil war sparked a mass exodus that saw tens of  thousands of his countrymen fleeing to Sudan. (AFP file)

He said that most Syrians resided in north Khartoum and worked in the industrial, agricultural and investment sectors.

The shooting did not stop even during the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, despite humanitarian calls for an end-of-Ramadan ceasefire.

Though the Syrian civil war has crossed the 12-year mark, Alabed said that when it comes to terms such as “mortar shells,” “clashes,” “water-supply and power cuts,” and “corpses on the roads,” “as Syrians we have not become inured to them. Still, to relive those experiences is very painful – even for the Sudanese people.”

He continued: “Although Sudan has a history of military confrontations, none of the clashes in the past happened in the capital. This has been one of the worst experiences we have lived through.”




In this image grab taken from footage released by the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on May 1, 2023, fighters stand at an entrance of the presidential palace in Khartoum. (AFP)

The outbreak of violence on April 15 took people in Khartoum by surprise. Reflecting on his experience, Alabed said: “In many past periods, we had witnessed a kind of verbal tension between the two parties to the conflict in Sudan, but those often ended when the parties held a meeting. This happened only a day before the clashes began.

“It is true that there were military reinforcements entering the capital and in Merowe in the north, but people continued to live a normal life.

“The markets remained open until late on that Ramadan night, but the next day, everyone woke up to this unfortunate news.”

Syrians in Khartoum could not be reached during the first few days of clashes owing to power outages and internet connectivity issues.

“Khartoum today is almost empty,” said Alabed. “Not only have foreigners vacated, but also Sudanese people, (many of whom) have fled to distant, safer states.”




A deserted street is pictured in Khartoum on May 1, 2023 as deadly clashes between rival generals' forces have entered their third week.  (AFP)

He said some were unable to leave due to a lack of sufficient financial means and had to endure long hours of power cuts.

“We are (also) approaching the third week of water cuts and the absence of basic goods and services, which has caused a state of panic.”

As of Tuesday, more than 500 people had been killed and another 4,000 wounded in the fighting, according to Sudan’s health ministry. Foreign countries have been evacuating their nationals over land, by sea and via special rescue flights amid the violence and chaos.

Millions of Sudanese, however, remain trapped in Khartoum, where food is running short. More than 70 percent of the city’s health facilities have been forced to close as a result of the fighting.

On Saturday Abdalla Hamdok, the former Sudanese prime minister, said the conflict could become worse than those in Syria and Libya, which have led to the deaths and displacement of hundreds of thousands of people and caused instability in the wider regions.

“I think it will be a nightmare for the world. This is not a war between an army and a small rebellion. It is almost like two armies,” he said.

In an article published on Saturday, the Norwegian Refugee Council described the situation in Sudan as “the worst-case scenario,” noting that that fuel is running out, many banks and shops have been robbed, and access to basic services, including water, electricity, food and communication networks, are a challenge.




A Syrian woman cooks at the Eve Kitchen (Hawa in Arabic) in Khartoum on November 25, 2015, as part of a project to support Syrians who have fled their war-torn country and taken refuge in the Sudanese capital since 2011. (AFP file photo)

Ayham believes things are taking a turn for the worse in Sudan “owing to the security chaos triggered by the political developments,” adding that “gunpoint robberies are rife, and many Syrians have been affected.”

Disruptions in water and power supplies have compounded the problem of insecurity and violence, forcing many bakeries in violence-torn areas to stay shut.

“Life in general, in addition to the security situation, has become very difficult within 10 days, so most Syrians either left for Port Sudan or fled to neighboring states,” according to Ayham.

This is not the first time that Syrians who have sought refuge in Sudan have packed their bags, fearing unpleasant consequences — or, worse still, another war.

In the period between the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in 2011 and the overthrow of longtime dictator Omar Al-Bashir in 2019, Sudan was a sanctuary for Syrians fleeing violence and suffering and hoping to rebuild their livelihoods in a distant country.

Between 2014 and 2019, Sudan welcomed some 300,000 Syrians, allowing them visa-free entry and the rights to investment, education, healthcare and even citizenship. Local media reported that 4,000 Syrians were granted Sudanese passports in 2016.




Syrians wait outside the Shawermat Anas restaurant in Khartoum. (Reuters File Photo)

“Syrians started flocking to Sudan when many embassies closed their doors to them,” Youssef, whose name has been changed for security reasons, told Arab News from Damascus.

The attitude of the Sudan government was in sharp contrast to that of even neighboring Lebanon, where, according to Youssef, “the climate has been generally unwelcoming, and the authorities require Syrians to have a sponsor after being in the country for 15 days.”

However, when Sudan’s transitional government took control in 2019, things changed for Syrians, prompting thousands to leave, and an entry visa was imposed. Then, following the military coup of 2021, “the number of Syrians in Sudan dropped significant, to somewhere between 60,000 and 70,000,” said Ayham.




Amid the violence in Sudan, Syrians who have fled the war in their country will have to find another place to  to go again. (AFP)

Traumatized by at least two experiences of war and displacement, the Syrians fleeing Sudan because of the ongoing fighting are not hopeful of returning any time soon.

“Unfortunately, I do not believe there will be relief soon in Sudan, although I hope I am wrong,” said Alabed, who came to Sudan after receiving a good job offer in the medical field.

Explaining why his prognosis about Sudan’s future is gloomy, he said: “I have recently started to compare what is happening in Khartoum with the onset of the Lebanese civil war of 1975. It turned out to be a prolonged conflict, and no side wanted to end it.

“Both sides believe they can resolve the conflict, and, alas, civilians are the ones paying the price.”

 


UN experts demand action to avert ‘annihilation’ of Palestinians in Gaza

Updated 6 sec ago
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UN experts demand action to avert ‘annihilation’ of Palestinians in Gaza

  • UN experts said Israel’s actions in Gaza 'follow alarming, documented patterns of genocidal conduct'

GENEVA: Countries are at a moral crossroads over the conflict in Gaza, UN experts warned Wednesday, urging action to halt the violence and avoid “the annihilation of the Palestinian population” in the territory.
A two-month ceasefire in the war collapsed in March, with Israel resuming intense strikes and calling up tens of thousands of reservists for an expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip.
“The decision is stark: remain passive and witness the slaughter of innocents or take part in crafting a just resolution,” dozens of United Nations-appointed independent experts said in a statement, urging the world to avert the “moral abyss we are descending into.”
An Israeli official said the expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip would entail the “conquest” of the Palestinian territory.
The experts, who are mandated by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, said Israel’s actions in Gaza “follow alarming, documented patterns of genocidal conduct.”

While states debate terminology — is it or is it not genocide? — Israel continues its relentless destruction of life in Gaza

Israel flatly rejects such charges.
The experts, including Francesca Albanese, the special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories, said that “while states debate terminology — is it or is it not genocide? — Israel continues its relentless destruction of life in Gaza.”
“No one is spared — not the children, persons with disabilities, nursing mothers, journalists, health professionals, aid workers, or hostages,” the experts said.
They highlighted the devastating impact of Israel’s blockade on Gaza.
“Food and water have been cut off for months, inducing starvation, dehydration, and disease, which will result in more deaths becoming the daily reality for many,” the statement read.
Israel’s statements about the conflict, they said, “showcase a clear intent to wield starvation as a weapon of war.”
The experts highlighted the responsibility of other countries to end the bloodshed, saying that “the world is watching.”
Countries continuing to support Israel, especially militarily but also politically, they said, risk “complicity in genocide and other serious international crimes.”


Six European nations reject ‘any demographic or territorial change’ in Gaza

Updated 48 min 19 sec ago
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Six European nations reject ‘any demographic or territorial change’ in Gaza

  • Israel’s plan ‘would mark a new and dangerous escalation’ in the war, the FMs of Spain, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway and Slovenia said in a joint statement
  • FMs, who apart from Luxembourg represent countries that have recognized a Palestinian state, said the plans would ‘endanger any perspective of a viable two-state solution’

MADRID: Six European countries said Wednesday that they “firmly reject any demographic or territorial change in Gaza” after Israel announced plans to expand its military offensive in the Palestinian territory.

Israel’s plan “would mark a new and dangerous escalation” in the war, the foreign ministers of Spain, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway and Slovenia said in a joint statement.

Israel has called up tens of thousands of reservists for the planned offensive, which comes after resumed Israeli attacks against militant group Hamas in March ended a two-month truce.An

Israeli military official has said the offensive would include the “conquest” of Gaza, holding territory and moving the strip’s population south “for their protection.”

The foreign ministers, who apart from Luxembourg represent countries that have recognized a Palestinian state, said the plans would “cross another line” and “endanger any perspective of a viable two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A military escalation would “worsen an already catastrophic situation” for Palestinian civilians and endanger the lives of hostages held in Gaza, they added.

The ministers also asked Israel to “immediately lift the blockade” it has imposed on Gaza-bound humanitarian aid that has caused shortages of food, fuel and medicine and increased fears of famine.

“What is needed more urgently than ever is the resumption of the ceasefire and the unconditional release of all the hostages,” they said.

The war started after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from Gaza on October 7, 2023 which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Palestinian militants also abducted 251 people that day, of whom 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed 52,653 people, mainly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.


Yemen’s Houthis to keep attacking Israeli ships despite US deal

Updated 07 May 2025
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Yemen’s Houthis to keep attacking Israeli ships despite US deal

  • “The waterways are safe for all international ships except Israeli ones,” Alejri told AFP
  • “Israel is not part of the agreement, it only includes American and other ships“

SANAA: Yemen’s Houthi militants will continue targeting Israeli ships in the Red Sea, an official told AFP on Wednesday, despite a ceasefire that ended weeks of intense US strikes on the Iran-backed group.
A day after the Houthis agreed to stop firing on ships plying the key trade route off their shores, a senior official told AFP that Israel was excluded from the deal.
“The waterways are safe for all international ships except Israeli ones,” Abdulmalik Alejri, a member of the Houthi political bureau, told AFP.
“Israel is not part of the agreement, it only includes American and other ships,” he said.
The Houthis, who have controlled large swathes of Yemen for more than a decade, began firing on Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November 2023, weeks after the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
They broadened their campaign to target ships tied to the United States and Britain after military strikes by the two countries began in January 2024.
Alejri said the Houthis would now “only” attack Israeli ships. In the past, vessels visiting Israel, or those with tenuous Israeli links, were in the militants’ sights.
The US-Houthi deal was announced after deadly Israeli strikes on Tuesday put Sanaa airport out of action in revenge for a Houthi missile strike on Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport.
Sanaa airport director Khaled alShaief told the militants’ Al-Masirah television Wednesday the Israeli attack had destroyed terminal buildings and caused $500 million in damage.
Oman said it had facilitated an agreement between Washington and the militants that “neither side will target the other... ensuring freedom of navigation.”
US President Donald Trump, who will visit Gulf countries next week, trumpeted the deal, saying the Houthis had “capitulated.”
“They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore, and that’s... the purpose of what we were doing,” he said during a White House press appearance.
The ceasefire followed weeks of stepped-up US strikes aimed at deterring Houthi attacks on shipping. The US attacks left 300 people dead, according to an AFP tally of Houthi figures.
The Pentagon said last week that US strikes had hit more than 1,000 targets in Yemen since mid-March in an operation that has been dubbed “Rough Rider.”
Alejri said recent US-Iran talks in Muscat “provided an opportunity” for indirect contacts between Sanaa and Washington, leading to the ceasefire.
“America was the one who started the aggression against us, and at its beginning, we did not resume our operations on Israel,” he added.
“We did not target any American ships or warships until they targeted us.”
Scores of Houthi missile and drone attacks have drastically reduced cargo volumes on the Red Sea route, which normally carries about 12 percent of global maritime trade.
The Houthis say their campaign — as well as a steady stream of attacks on Israeli territory — is in solidarity with the Palestinians.


Hamas says commander killed in Israel Lebanon strike

Updated 07 May 2025
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Hamas says commander killed in Israel Lebanon strike

  • The dawn strike killed one person
  • The Israeli military confirmed that it killed Ahmed, adding that he was “the head of operations in Hamas’s Western Brigade in Lebanon“

SIDON, Lebanon: Hamas said one of its commanders was killed in an Israeli strike on the south Lebanon city of Sidon on Wednesday, the latest attack despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the dawn strike killed one person.
Hamas named him as Khaled Ahmed Al-Ahmed and said he was on his way to pray.
“As we mourn our heroic martyr, we pledge to God Almighty, and then to our people and our nation, to continue on the path of resistance,” the Palestinian militant group said in a statement.
The Israeli military confirmed that it killed Ahmed, adding that he was “the head of operations in Hamas’s Western Brigade in Lebanon.”
It alleged he had been engaged in weapons smuggling and advancing “numerous” attacks against Israel.
Israel has continued to launch regular strikes in Lebanon despite the November 27 truce which sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah including two months of full-blown war.
Under the deal, Hezbollah was to pull back its fighters north of Lebanon’s Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure to its south.
Israel was to withdraw all its forces from Lebanon, but it has kept troops in five positions that it deems “strategic.”
A Lebanese security source told AFP that Hezbollah had withdrawn fighters from south of the Litani and dismantled most of its military infrastructure in the area.
Lebanon says it has respected its commitments and has called on the international community to pressure Israel to end its attacks and withdraw from the five border positions.
Last week, Lebanon’s top security body the Higher Defense Council warned Hamas against using the country for attacks on Israel.
The group has since handed over several Palestinians accused of firing rockets from Lebanon into Israel in March.


Yemen, Iran will be left ‘unrecognizable’ if attacks continue, says Israeli envoy

Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon delivers remarks during Israeli Independence Day celebrations at the UN Headquarters.
Updated 07 May 2025
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Yemen, Iran will be left ‘unrecognizable’ if attacks continue, says Israeli envoy

  • UN Ambassador Danny Danon was speaking at Israeli Independence Day celebrations
  • Warning came as Israel ‘fully disabled’ Sanaa airport in retaliatory strikes on Tuesday

NEW YORK CITY: Israel’s UN ambassador threatened Yemen’s Houthi militia and Iran in remarks made during Israeli Independence Day celebrations.

“If the Houthis and their Iranian masters want to play with fire, they will find their own lands unrecognizable,” Danny Danon said on Tuesday at UN Headquarters in New York City.

The warning came as Israel launched a series of attacks on Yemen in retaliation for a Houthi missile attack on Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv days earlier.

Israeli jets struck Sanaa’s international airport as well as the Red Sea port of Hodeidah on Tuesday.

The Yemeni capital’s airport was left “fully disabled” by the attack, the Israeli military said in a statement.

Washington and the Houthi militia on Tuesday also reached a deal to end the militia’s attacks on Red Sea shipping.

But the ceasefire, mediated by Oman, does not include an agreement to limit Houthi strikes on Israel, officials from the militia said later.

Dozens of ambassadors and Jewish community leaders took part in the Independence Day event in New York City.

Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots football team who has deep ties to Israel, also attended.

Danon said: “Israel is not a footnote in history — it is a driving force in history. Even after 77 years of independence, we are still forced to fight for our very right to exist in security and peace.

“But time and again we have shown the world the unbeatable spirit of the Jewish people — the ability to turn suffering into strength, isolation into unity and despair into hope.”

Malawi’s ambassador to the UN, Dr. Agnes Chimbiri-Molande, also took part in the event. She recently joined an Israeli-organized delegation to Auschwitz as part of the March of the Living organization.

Chimbiri-Molande said: “Visiting Israel was a powerful and unforgettable experience for me. I stood in the face of destruction — but also in the face of hope.

“Israel is a living example to the world of how one can continue to build and believe, even when attempts are made repeatedly to destroy it.”

Kraft, founder of the Stand Up to Jewish Hate initiative, has led extensive pro-Israel campaigning efforts in the US. Last year, he likened nationwide university protests against the war in Gaza to the forces that led to the rise of Nazism in Germany during the 1930s.

Kraft said at the Israeli Mission’s event: “Today more than ever we must stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel. The Jewish people have contributed to the entire world — in science, technology, medicine and humanity.

“It is time for the world to recognize and protect this contribution.”