« Andrew Heavens was doing so well dealing heroin ... | Main | A multi-million mistake »

May 10, 2008

Attack on Khartoum

About half an hour ago we could still hear the dull thudding of aerial bombardments coming in over the Nile from behind our house.

The Darfur rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) launched their attack on Omdurman, a city a few miles north of Khartoum, this afternoon. Their aim was clear. "We are now trying to control Khartoum. God willing we will take power, it's just a matter of time," senior JEM commander Abdel Aziz el-Nur Ashr told Reuters by telephone.

I was flying back from Juba, capital of southern Sudan, when it started, and only found out what was going on when I turned on my mobile phone as I got off the plane at Khartoum's domestic terminal at around 5pm.

The airport itself seemed calm. But outside, the main Africa Road dual carriageway was packed with soldiers and traffic police. The lanes heading into the city centre, towards the fighting, were empty. The lanes heading south away from the fighting were bumper to bumper with cars. There was no panic. But people were clearly keen to clear the area.

The government had just declared a 5pm-6am curfew so the only thing to do was to head home before they shut down the streets. When I arrived at the gate, our Sudanese neighbours came out to welcome me back with an Alhamdulillah and offered to take us in if there was any trouble.

Being close to the action doesn't always give you a particularly clear picture of what is going on. The country's main mobile network was not working – either overloaded or shut down. Our internet connection was still up but the people I really needed to contact were offline. The only thing to do was watch the helicopters circling ahead and listen to the bombardments that seemed to drift closer and further away, depending on the wind.

After a while we got the Thuraya satellite phone up and running and got through to the government and some of the rebels. Here is the Reuters report that I contributed to. State TV started showing pictures of dead bodies and blood on the streets of Omdurman. The sun set and the bombing stopped.

Just a few random thoughts:

Posted by aheavens at May 10, 2008 8:11 PM

Comments

OMG!

This reminds me of the time EPRDF was approaching Addis Ababa in 1992! the than ethiopian army simply collapsed in breathtaking speed, and before we knew it, Meles was crowned.

At least EPRDF and their army were very organized and disciplined, and there was minimal bloodshed in Ethiopia. I don't think JEM are like that at all, so this does not look good for Khartum.

What if the govt falls and there are revenge killings? I can see the world doing nothing if JEM goes after who they think are civilian supporters of the govt. Alternatively, the govt. soldiers could go after who they think are rebel supporters.

This is really bad!

Posted by: safiya at May 11, 2008 6:29 PM

Post a comment




Remember Me?