The Documentary Podcast Return to Khartoum: War, loss and hope
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May 12, 2026 A reporter returns to Khartoum to describe the city's widespread destruction and the dangers of rubble and unexploded ordnance. Survivors recount life under occupation, threats to women and grassroots survival tactics. Volunteers and mutual aid groups keep communities going while demining, looting of cultural sites, repairs and a fragile return to schools and shops shape the fragile recovery.
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Power Deal Turned Capital Into Battleground
- The conflict began after Bashir invited the RSF into Khartoum, which later allied with the army to seize power and then turned on each other.
- That power-sharing deal fractured, making Khartoum the epicentre of a wider national war in 2023.
Staying To Build Emergency Response Rooms
- Dua stayed in RSF-occupied Khartoum while pregnant and helped organise emergency response rooms to support neighbours.
- These grassroots groups ran communal kitchens, basic healthcare and home education when official services collapsed.
Demining Teams Clearing Khartoum Block By Block
- Deminers from JASMAR are clearing mines, grenades and Russian, Israeli and Chinese mines block by block along the Nile.
- They cut thick grass, sweep with detectors and warn returns after an incident where a fire ignited a buried mortar.