Londoner recalls 'scary' scene as violence erupts in Sudan's capital

As violence erupted in Sudan's capital city Saturday, Elmutaz Osman woke up to the sound of gunshots. 

"Fighting is all over the place," said Osman, a London, Ont., resident who is in the African country visiting family. "It's everywhere. Yesterday, two bullets, they came into my house. One of them was very close to the window. It hit the window very close to where my father was sleeping."

After months of escalating tension, conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) threatens to bring Africa's third-largest country into a civil war. The two groups led a coup to topple the country's former civilian government in October 2021.

More than 180 people have been killed and 1,800 injured during the fighting across the country, the United Nations reported on Monday. Many across Sudan are running out of food and water, and are without electricity. 

"It's really scary," Osman said, speaking from his family home in Khartoum. 

He hasn't been able to leave the home since Saturday, he said, except to try and get food. During Ramadan, the family is fasting during the day. 

Osman doesn't know when he'll make it home to Canada. He's visiting family in Khartoum, staying with his father, after his mother died.

Getting groceries is a big problem, he said. When he did try to get food, firing started and the line of people dispersed, he said. Even if he got to the store, he's doubtful it would be enough. 

"When you go to the grocery they don't have have enough stock because they are not getting any supplies from outside.

"Yesterday, we didn't have water the whole day," he said. "Electricity has been out since the morning."

Osman said his family has taken in guests from the other side of the city who aren't able to get home. 

He said he was planning to come home after Eid this week, but the airport near him is closed, after planes were shot down and the runway was damaged. 

"The militias are trying just to control the airports."

London's Sudanese community worried

Osman, who has lived in London for more than a decade, is talking and texting with friends in Canada who are worried about his safety. 

One of them is Dafalla Yousif, president of the Sudanese Canadian Community Association in London.

"The situation is catastrophic in Sudan right now," said Yousif. He's in touch with family and friends daily, hearing stories of shortages of water and food, electricity outages and lack of medical supplies and access to health care.

"The Sudanese people need help. They need supplies. They need medical supplies. The humanitarian situation in Sudan is really, really bad now."

Most Sudanese people in London have extended family in Sudan, Yousif said. There are about 1,200 Sudanese living in London, according to Statistics Canada data from 2021. Yousif's count is higher, estimating about 2,000 Sudanese-Canadians in London.

The Sudanese community in Canada is rallying to help. Sudanese associations joined together to urge the Canadian government to do more to address the situation and increase efforts to end the conflict, Yousif said.

They're also calling on the Canadian Embassy to protect and assist stranded Sudanese Canadians and provide them with assistance until they are evacuated, he said. 

Praying for peace

Stuck in Khartoum, Osman said he doesn't know if there is hope the conflict will end soon, but is praying for the groups to consider peace. 

"My belief is that you know gun will not solve anything. People should at least sit and try to negotiate peace," he said. 

"We are waiting, all of us, to see if there is any hope."