Middle East & Africa | Strategic struggle

Sudan’s war is home-grown, but risks drawing in outsiders

The Horn of Africa sits astride key trade routes

People pass by damaged cars and buildings at the central market during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan April 27, 2023. REUTERS/ Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Image: Reuters
|KHARTOUM AND NAIROBI

Four days after war began in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, armed men stormed the home of Muhammad. Ordering the businessman (whose name we have changed for his safety) and his family to leave, the soldiers mounted anti-aircraft guns on the roof of the apartment. Muhammad’s family moved in with relatives in a quieter neighbourhood. But that, too, was soon unsafe as the fighting spread, leaving the streets strewn with bodies.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “The risk of contagion”

From the May 6th 2023 edition

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