Khartoum – Massive destruction of infrastructure and near-complete looting of properties, this is how areas liberated by the Sudanese army from the grip of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) appeared in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, after nearly two years of militia control over these areas.
The central Khartoum area – recently liberated from RSF control – is considered one of the most vital areas in Sudan. It is bustling with markets, government institutions, and private sector entities including companies and organizations. It also houses Khartoum’s largest markets, hospitals, universities, schools, banks, hotels, and entertainment venues. However, the current state of this area is far removed from its past.
According to testimonies from traders and employees who used to work in central Khartoum, the RSF looted and stole from all commercial establishments in the area, especially banks and markets, including the well-known gold markets in the heart of the Arab Market. More than 10 banks and financial institutions were robbed, burned, and completely destroyed.
The liberated areas are in a pitiful state (Al Jazeera)
Destruction of Towers
The destruction affected several high-rise towers owned by both government and private sectors. The Nile Petroleum Tower was completely destroyed and then burned. The Coral Hotel, Al-Fateh Tower Hotel, Meridian Hotel, Grand Hotel, Ewaa Tower Hotel, and Belos Towers were all destroyed. All these buildings were once part of Khartoum’s skyline.
According to a military leadership source who spoke to Al Jazeera Net, the Mugran area, which includes several towers, was used by RSF forces as a sniping location. They brought in heavy artillery to shell the Army Engineers west of Mugran and the army’s defense west of Ingaz Bridge. Some towers, like the Belos Tower, were used to shell the army’s General Command.
Banks and financial institutions in central Khartoum did not escape vandalism and theft. Al Jazeera Net documented the extent of damage to the Central Bank of Sudan, Sahel and Sahara Bank, Faisal Islamic Bank, Omdurman National Bank, Savings Bank, Nile Bank, and Agricultural Bank.
The destruction affected several towers, including Al-Fateh Tower in Khartoum (Al Jazeera).
Bank Looting
The Sudanese army accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a press statement of looting banks in central Khartoum, especially the Central Bank of Sudan, which contained reserves of gold and foreign currency. The bank was under RSF control for 20 months. The statement noted that all banks in central Khartoum had been reduced to piles of ashes after being looted, their contents burned, and turned into military barracks.
Hospitals were not in a better state than banks in central Khartoum. A government source, who requested anonymity, stated that some hospitals had their contents transferred to the Darfur region in western Sudan, while their funds were looted. Other hospitals were converted into weapon storage facilities.
Sudanese army officers told Al Jazeera Net that artillery and sniper missiles from RSF forces were launched from Al-Zaytouna and Imperial hospitals west of the General Command, causing injuries and fatalities among army personnel.
Market Looting and Destruction (Al Jazeera)
Market Burning
Within 72 hours of the war’s outbreak in April 2023, the RSF stole the entire contents of markets in central Khartoum. This area does not include residential neighborhoods despite its large size but hosts the most important markets in the capital.
Scenes document the massive destruction suffered by the area. Markets that once bustled with life are now abandoned. The Arab Market, previously one of the busiest markets, is now littered with explosive remnants, burned tanks, destroyed war machinery, and scattered bodies around its vicinity.
The situation on Tuti Island, located at the confluence of the Blue and White Nile rivers, is no better. The island—one of Sudan’s oldest cities inhabited by tribes mostly from northern Sudan—suffered significant violations by RSF forces, including enduring one of the most severe blockades during the war.
Civil and volunteer organizations documented the killing of dozens of Tuti Island residents and forced evacuation of all its inhabitants. Over time, it became an island occupied by RSF forces, who used it to shell Omdurman and support their troops in Bahri and Khartoum.
Recently, the army managed to retake control of Tuti Island as part of its military campaign in central Khartoum. However, this vital island has transformed into a silent city where only birds’ sounds can be heard.
The people of Tuti Island dispersed in a long journey of displacement to various Sudanese cities. Destruction has become one of the constant scenes in all cities recaptured from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Markets have been looted, and there is no movement on the island except for the Nile’s flow, the most prominent witness to these violations.
In the Mugran neighborhood in central Khartoum, a resident tells Al Jazeera Net that it was one of the first areas from which inhabitants were expelled since the beginning of the war between the army forces and the RSF.
He added that after the RSF took control of Mugran in the first months of the war, a force came to citizens’ homes and ordered them to evacuate immediately. “We later learned that the evacuation and expulsion were to secure a visit by Abdul Rahim Dagalo, deputy commander of the RSF, who actually came to Mugran and addressed his soldiers.”
After the army recaptured Mugran, it became devoid of residents, with its houses abandoned and barely inhabited. Most of the doors of the houses were smashed before being subjected to the usual theft.
Source: Al Jazeera
