A burnt-out shell - BBC visits Sudan's capital after the army's victory

The battered bosom of Khartoum lies eerily quiescent now, aft weeks of aggravated municipality combat successful the Sudanese capital.

We entered the metropolis conscionable days aft Sudan's service recaptured it from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the culmination of a six-month violative done the cardinal portion of the country.

Once the commercialized bosom and spot of Sudan's government, Khartoum is present a burnt-out shell.

Taking backmost the superior was a turning constituent successful the two-year civilian war, which erupted retired of a powerfulness conflict betwixt the service and the RSF.

But it is not wide what absorption the struggle volition instrumentality now.

We drove archetypal to the statesmanlike palace, which the RSF occupied aboriginal successful the war.

It was an important basal for the paramilitary fighters.

The floors are covered with debris and breached glass.

Cushioned chairs erstwhile utilized for authoritative functions basal covered with dust, a fewer paintings inactive bent connected the walls, ragged chandeliers dangle from the ceilings.

But astir everything other had been looted - adjacent the electrical cables were yanked retired of the walls.

The worst harm is astatine the beforehand of the building, which was struck by RSF drones soon aft the service seized the palace.

The main entranceway is wrecked, dried humor inactive disposable connected the stairs, the windows present gaping holes looking retired implicit the River Nile.

"I was truly precise excited to beryllium successful the Republican palace," 1 worker told maine arsenic we walked down the grimy reddish carpet.

"It's my archetypal clip successful this spot and I waited for this spot [like] the Sudanese successful general. They wanted it to beryllium free. It is awesome of our dignity."

It is besides an important awesome of powerfulness for the army.

Soldiers sang and danced, their jubilation erupting arsenic the Muslim Eid vacation began.

A section edifice delivered a feast for them, hailed arsenic heroes by galore successful the capital.

But their triumph was won astatine tremendous cost.

The level of demolition successful cardinal Khartoum is stunning: authorities ministries, banks and towering bureau blocks basal blackened and burned.

The tarmac astatine the planetary airdrome is simply a graveyard of smashed planes, its passport and check-in counters covered successful ashes.

We drove slowly, weaving astir unexploded ordnance successful the road.

At 1 intersection assemblage parts were successful a heap, 2 skulls intelligibly visible. About 100m (328ft) down the road, a assemblage laic successful beforehand of a damaged car.

A halt astatine St Matthew's Cathedral, built by the British successful 1908 and a spot of worship for the country's number Christian population, was a invited reprieve.

The beautifully painted ceiling is intact.

A spread precocious successful 1 partition showed wherever a ammunition had crashed through, a transverse had fallen down.

But it looked overmuch amended than galore of the buildings we had seen.

A worker cleaning up rubble connected the level told america that astir of the harm was caused by shrapnel from shelling astir the church.

No-one destroyed the "house of God", helium said, but the RSF fighters desecrated the gathering by defecating successful it.

He said his lad was calved connected the archetypal time of the war, but due to the fact that of the non-stop warring helium had inactive not had a accidental to spell location and spot the child.

The paramilitaries besides occupied the areas wherever diplomatic missions are located.

When the warring began, countries and companies scrambled to evacuate staff.

At the entranceway of the British embassy, an RSF slogan is scrawled connected the wall.

The bullet-proof solid of the gathering mostly held, but it is pockmarked with galore signs of impact.

In the car parkland astatine the back, a fleet of vehicles stands destroyed.

Across the street, a UK emblem hung implicit the staircase of a battered building, crumpled and dirty.

This is Sudan's 3rd civilian warfare successful 70 years, and successful immoderate ways, it is worse than immoderate of the others - arsenic erstwhile conflicts were fought successful different parts of the country.

But this 1 has torn done the halfway of Sudan, hardening divisions and threatening to divided the nation.

Further distant from the combat zone, scattered celebrations for Eid spilled into the street.

For radical present the warfare is over, adjacent though it continues elsewhere.

The service has been accused of atrocities, and reports accidental tens of thousands fled the warring successful caller days. But successful Khartoum, radical celebrated the extremity of the brutal RSF occupation.

The temper was besides buoyant astatine a communal room successful the neighbourhood of al-Jeraif West.

"I consciousness similar I've been re-created," said Osman al-Bashir, his eyes lighting up with the caller world aft citing a database of the war's hardships. He told maine helium had learned his English from the BBC World Service.

Duaa Tariq is simply a pro-democracy activist, portion of the question that successful 2019 toppled subject person Omar al-Bashir, whose authoritarian regularisation had lasted astir 3 decades.

She has been focusing connected helping her neighbourhood past the war.

"We're celebrating Eid for the archetypal clip successful 2 years," she said.

"Everybody's dressing up, including myself! I'm overwhelmed with a batch of emotions, conscionable similar trying to larn however to unrecorded again. We consciousness free, we consciousness light, adjacent the aerial smells different."

Ms Tariq struggled to support the kitchens moving during the warfare arsenic nutrient ran out, the metropolis looted by the RSF, nether siege by the service and US assistance cut.

Food is inactive scarce, but determination is anticipation now.

"I'm feeling wonderful. I consciousness safe. I consciousness great, adjacent though I'm hungry," said an aged man, Kasim Agra.

"You know, it doesn't matter. Freedom is what's important.

"As you see, I transportation a mobile," helium said, pointing to a telephone successful his pocket.

"You couldn't transportation a mobile astir 2 weeks ago."

That is thing galore radical successful antithetic parts of Khartoum person said to maine - mobile telephones were a lifeline to the extracurricular world, and a premier people for theft by RSF fighters.

Mr Agra was optimistic that Khartoum, and the country, could recover.

"I deliberation the authorities is going to bring investors: Americans, Saudis, Canadians, Chinese, they're going to rebuild this country, I believe."

Even if specified monolithic reconstruction takes place, it is hard to ideate Khartoum retaining its chiseled taste and architectural features.

Several of the women besides echoed thing I person repeatedly heard elsewhere - they tin yet slumber again, aft lying awake nights acrophobic that RSF looters would interruption in.

The value of fearfulness and nonaccomplishment is heavy: truthful galore stories of abuse, of beingness endangered and disrupted.

"Our children are traumatised," says Najwa Ibrahim.

"They request psychiatrists to assistance them. My sister's a teacher and tried to enactment with the children, but it's not enough."

Ms Tariq besides has questions astir the interaction of the war: "When volition the metropolis beryllium accessible again, unfastened again?

"And different idiosyncratic question arsenic an activist, what volition hap to each the freedoms and rights that we gained implicit the past 5 years of revolution?" she asked, referring to the years that followed the ousting of Bashir erstwhile a associated civilian-military authorities had been moving towards a instrumentality to civilian rule.

"How volition it beryllium again for civilian society, actors, for activists, for state fighters? I'm not definite of our aboriginal now."

No-one is definite of Sudan's future.

"We commune for the radical of Darfur," 16-year-old Hawaa Abdulshafiea said, referring to the occidental stronghold of the RSF, wherever the humanitarian situation has been worst, and wherever the absorption of the warfare is expected to shift.

"May God support them."