Omdurman: How Did I See It From Within?

Dr. Mohamed Osman Awadallah

I traveled 850 km from Port Sudan to Omdurman, on a paved road via a tourist bus. Passing through several cities, including Suakin, Sinkat, Haya, Atbara, Damer, and Shendi, without delving into details, these cities are living their daily civil lives at 100% normalcy. The only reason for this is that they are under the protection of state institutions, with their residents in full control of their homes and neighborhoods. They carry out all their activities freely and complete their transactions at various state offices.
In these cities, there is a real state, complete freedom, and genuine security. (This description also applies to a strip of cities 900 km north to Halfa, and 700 km east to Kassala).

*Omdurman:
As we approached from Shendi, the closer we got to the residential areas north of Omdurman, the more densely populated, developed, commercially active, filled with vehicles, and riddled with checkpoints the area became.

*Army Presence:
The army in Omdurman is confined to its camps and facilities. It does not enter residential areas, never controls them, nor interferes with people’s daily lives. The citizens live their lives with complete freedom and full civil liberties, under the protection of state institutions, led by the army, police, judiciary, and other bodies like security services and community oversight institutions.

*Checkpoints:
From the entrance to Omdurman, checkpoints begin, each manned by only three soldiers, which suggests their mission is more security-oriented rather than military. (One soldier is from the army, one from the security forces, and the last from the police). They stop every vehicle and ask the driver and passengers basic security-related questions, such as ID, residence address, and point of origin. These checkpoints are placed regularly, and the citizens fully cooperate with them, demonstrating their belief in the necessity of this initial simple security check. Out of respect and professionalism, the soldiers limit their role to security duties without interfering with citizens’ choices or personal freedoms.

*Vehicle Movement:
Every day, at least 50 tourist buses, each with a capacity of 50 passengers, depart from Port Sudan from different private transportation companies. These companies provide excellent tourist services, transporting people between states and major cities. Meanwhile, transportation within the cities and residential neighborhoods is readily available. Vehicles line up in large queues, one after another. At major stations, young men (known locally as “kumsangi”) urge citizens to board the buses. Rickshaws also help transport people from main roads into the neighborhoods, covering distances up to 5 or 7 kilometers.

*Commercial Activity:
Along both sides of the main road, stretching for at least 30 km, there are large, extended markets. Thousands of cars, trucks, butcher shops, supermarkets, bakeries, gold shops, boutiques, falafel sellers, tailors, clothing stores, vegetable and fruit vendors, and hundreds of trucks transporting onions (it seems to be the season)… etc. There is significant crowding and diversity in commercial activity. The abundance of goods only matches the heightened demand, which seems to have doubled since before the war due to the militia looting other markets and forcing citizens out of other areas, leading them to Omdurman. The intensity of commercial activity is a clear sign not only of the theory of supply and demand but also a testament to the security and personal safety that allows for such dense business operations.

*Life in Residential Areas:
I saw young men playing football in the fields.
I saw builders constructing and plastering walls.
I prayed in mosques filled with hundreds of worshippers.
I visited tailors’ markets, where dozens were working, and bought fabric to have clothes made as gifts for others.
Hundreds of women sellers and street vendors were present. People visit each other, host feasts, gather socially, and watch TV, etc.

*State Offices:
I visited the civil registry to obtain a birth certificate…
I went to the court to get a legal affidavit…
Thousands of citizens request services daily at state institutions.
Outside these institutions, large crowds of people wait their turn, with women offering traditional food, document photocopying services for those in need, and scribes writing petitions on behalf of others.
Inside the offices and halls, employees are diligently serving the public. The organizational structures and administrative hierarchy within these institutions remain intact.
The verification of data, documents, seals, and the follow-up of procedures is as it was before.
*The state machinery is functioning normally, providing services with precision, discipline, and continuity.*
Senior officials proudly speak of their success in recovering all the electronic data that the militia brutally attacked and destroyed in the control centers. (Birth and death records, passports, banks, ministries, courts, universities, and services like electricity, water, internet, and payment services have all been restored).

*The Army:
The army remains in its barracks and never enters residential areas. Its vehicles move in numbers that do not draw attention, seemingly for surveillance, monitoring, and routine tasks. Citizens widely discuss the major role of the Martyr Osman Makawi Media Center and the army’s cooperative foundation, which checks on citizens in their neighborhoods and provides them with food aid.
On the other hand, the army is the primary topic of conversation for citizens. The abundance of information about the army is due to the large number of volunteers within its ranks.
Whenever two citizens converse, one is often a volunteer in the army (most conversations revolve around the front lines, which are concentrated in two areas in Omdurman: Al-Salihah and Libya Market, in addition to Bahri and Khartoum).
There is widespread and proud talk of the army’s readiness, air sorties, drone accuracy, mortar and artillery strikes, heroes, and tactics…etc. The way citizens discuss the army and its performance, with excitement and enthusiasm, feels like they are describing a cinematic film.

*The Only Security Threat:
The only threat to citizens’ lives is the random shelling targeting residential areas. The militia has targeted millions of civilians, killing thousands. They have also shelled hospitals, markets, transportation hubs, and places of worship, among others. The citizens have come to live with this painful reality as if it is an inevitable fate. They speak of the army’s countermeasures and its destruction of the enemy’s artillery.

*The Political Situation:
Port Sudan is dominated by political discussions. In Omdurman, however, I heard no political polarization or talk of forming a government or political parties, or even the nomination of a prime minister. These matters seem irrelevant to the citizens. Discussions about the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) or Hamdok are limited to accusations of treason, linking them to the militia and the UAE, and cursing them heavily.
*There is unanimous agreement on the priority of removing the militia from citizens’ homes and residential areas before any negotiations and on the inviolability of national sovereignty.*
There is a heightened sensitivity among citizens against foreign intervention, with full hostility directed at the UAE, the traitors, and the FFC, blaming them more than the militia. I did not hear anyone calling for negotiations.

*Conversation with a Citizen:
A citizen asked me the following questions: Does the militia’s occupation of citizens’ homes count as a victory? Is it a defeat for the army? Are citizens’ homes considered military targets? All my answers were no.
Then he surprised me with the following question: If so, why is the army being blamed?
Question: What is your definition of the militia’s occupation of citizens’ homes?
Answer: It is a crime forbidden by international, local, and religious laws.
Question: What are the ways and institutions for combating crime?
Answer: After proving the crime, it is fought by the prosecution, the judiciary, the police, citizens, and awareness of rights and duties.
Question: Why didn’t you mention the army?
Answer: The army is not among the institutions that combat crime and only intervenes with specific orders, at a specific time, and in a specific place (when a state of emergency is declared).
He repeated his question: So why is the army being blamed?
Answer: The propaganda against the army is a political stance fabricated to cover up the militia’s crimes and confuse people with false narratives and misleading stories.
And so the conversation ended, reflecting the deep popular awareness.

*Information about Other Residential Areas for Comparison:
The militia violates cities and residential areas, expelling citizens and occupying their homes, committing the worst types of crimes against them. Those still living in these areas cannot leave their homes. My friend Abdullah left, only to be struck by a militia soldier, who severed his leg. Despite this, the FFC refers to citizens’ homes and residential areas as “Rapid Support controlled areas” and calls for their retention or for the army to surrender to them. The FFC doesn’t label the occupation of cities and homes as a crime but instead misleads the public by calling them “controlled areas,” accusing the army of failing to protect citizens.

Finally, this article serves only to relay information about life inside Omdurman, based on what I experienced and witnessed as I toured different neighborhoods and markets and spoke with its citizens.