A familiar ritual returned to Khartoum as residents gathered on battered streets to break their Ramadan fast at sunset.
The Sudanese capital was where fighting erupted in April 2023 between forces loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces. The conflict spread nationwide, killing tens of thousands and displacing millions from homes scarred by shellfire.
For nearly two years, Khartoum and its sister cities, Omdurman and Bahri, became battlefields divided by the Nile. Neighbourhoods were besieged as rival fighters exchanged gunfire across the river’s narrow waters.
The SAF recaptured the capital last March, allowing families to slowly return to shattered districts.
“Last Ramadan, there were only two families here; today we are 13,” said trader Abdelkader Omar. Omar returned to Omdurman months after fleeing and shared food with neighbours seated on woven mats.
Only men gathered outdoors, while women prepared iftar meals inside nearby homes. Despite renewed calm, Sudan’s economy remains in crisis after years of triple-digit inflation.
Annual inflation reached 151 percent in 2024, easing from a peak of 358 percent in 2021. The Sudanese pound has fallen from 570 to nearly 3,500 per dollar on the black market.
“Goods are available, but prices compared to wages make things difficult,” Omar said.
At Khartoum’s central market, vendor Mohamed said customers now buy fewer fruit and vegetables.
“People complain about prices; everything is there, but costs keep rising,” he said.
In Omdurman, 53-year-old Hassan Bachir prepared a communal table as neighbours waited for sunset. He returned last June and said he never expected the market to revive so quickly.
“Sudanese people help each other out,” he said, citing community kitchens feeding struggling families.
Journalist Othman al-Jundi described the city as “completely different” from last year’s fearful nights. “Today, despite drone attacks, no one is missing,” said Ahmed Balla from El-Obeid in North Kordofan.
