In Port Sudan, Jeddah, Aswan and Cairo, people have sought safety from the fighting in Khartoum. After making difficult decisions and journeys, the biggest challenges for many are only beginning.
The conflict has devastated health care: attacks on hospitals, threats against medical staff. Three Sudanese-American doctors share stories from their colleagues — and map out a plan for the future.
The Sudanese city of Port Sudan has been overwhelmed by people trying to flee the growing conflict in the country and make their way by ship across the Red Sea to the Saudi city of Jeddah.
Sudan's already fragile health care system has been shattered by conflict in the space of weeks. But there are many there who are working hard to fill the gaps in the system.
The violence in Sudan has claimed the life of a beloved Sudanese American doctor. One of his colleague's talks about Dr. Sulieman's legacy — and the devastating toll of the fighting in Khartoum.
Two generals are currently battling for control of Sudan's capital Khartoum. In the early 2000s, both played key roles in the government's brutal crackdown in Darfur, which was ruled a genocide.
With fighting continuing between rival generals, thousands are fleeing the country and embassies have shut. U.N. Secretary General António Guterres warns the violence may spread to other countries.
As foreign governments airlifted hundreds of their diplomats and other citizens from Sudan, Sudanese on Monday desperately sought ways to escape the chaos amid fears fighting will only escalate.
The Sudanese army said it was coordinating efforts to evacuate diplomats from the U.S., Britain, China and France out of the country on military airplanes, as fighting persisted in the capital.
Nagwa Khalid Hamad, 66, was one of at least 400 killed since conflict erupted last Saturday. Her son spoke to NPR about her death and life — and what she meant to him, to family and to her patients.
After close to two weeks of fighting and a failed attempt at an internationally-brokered cease-fire, most of its hospitals are shut down and inaccessible.
As rival military factions fight on the streets of Sudan's capital, three women describe what life is like for them. "I think we can die at any time. Nobody can feel safe in Khartoum now," one says.
We spoke to Dr. Ghazali Babiker, country director for Médecins Sans Frontières in Sudan, who is in Khartoum. He offered a grim assessment of the impact of fighting on the ability to give health care.
