Kimair: Kitchens and market booms fade as the displaced return home
River Nile- After mass displacement in Kimair Al-Awdiya village in Al-Matamma locality of Nile River State, normalcy is gradually resuming after many displaced residents returned to their homes areas following improved security.
The village northeast of Al-Matamma on the Nile’s west bank hosted thousands of the displaced since the war began, largely from Khartoum and eastern Al-Jazirah. Many arrived in October 2024 after Rapid Support Forces (RSF) advanced into those areas.
Estimates by the Committee on Displacement and Arrivals Services indicate over 5,000 people were displaced and housed in schools and private homes. They were fed by three daily community kitchens run by more than fifty volunteers. These kitchens closed recently as demand fell.
Volunteer Abdullah Mohamed Ahmed told Atar the kitchens played a pivotal role in providing breakfast and dinner during the two years of war, relying on local community donations.
Meanwhile, An-Nourab Market in Kimair saw brisk trade and rising rents during peak periods, but now reports a clear slowdown.
“Trade has dropped sharply since most displaced went back,” merchant Hamdana Allah, who fled Khartoum and opened a stall there, said.
In transport, driver Al-Mahi Al-Tayeb, who operates on the Shendi–An-Nourab route, says most buses are returning to their old lines, barely making two trips per day and serving mostly local residents.
The locals have also adjusted to reduced transport services, relying on informal options where available.
A doctor at the Kimair health centre noted fewer clinic visits compared to the displacement period, adding that some displaced people have remained behind for medical reasons or children’s schooling.
Reflecting past population pressure, Atar correspondent counted over 300 new graves in the village cemetery for displaced victims who died after fleeing conflict zones, underscoring Kimair’s tragedy over the past two years.
Kampala: Sudanese in Uganda complain of slow procedures and high passport fees
Kampala- On June 13, 2025, Sudan’s embassy in Kampala launched an e-passport and civil registry document service for the Sudanese community. This came after a team from Passport and Civil Registry Authority and the National Information Centre completed digital linkage with the authority’s headquarters in Sudan.
The service addresses urgent needs among the over 7,000 registered Sudanese in Uganda seeking documents.
Despite its significance, activation faltered due to technical and administrative hurdles, primarily weak Internet connectivity which delayed appointment list announcements and slowed processing, Deputy Consul Mujahid Abdelrahman told Atar.
Abdelrahman said they had to boost Internet speed from 10 to about 45 megabits per second to improve performance, especially for e-passport procedures involving digital imaging, electronic signatures and connection to the central system.
Sudanese citizens in Uganda face steep e-passport fees of $250 for adults and $125 for children, plus charges for national ID issuance and birth certificates. Many applicants describe these costs as excessive and out of sync with their deteriorating economic conditions, since many fled Sudan due to war and depend on humanitarian assistance.
Mona, a 54‑year‑old Sudanese patient with kidney problems, told Atar she waited many days to complete passport formalities despite her illness, noting that the process is extremely slow and repeatedly suspended.
“We arrive at the embassy early and wait all day for nothing. After all that, we receive the passport only after more than forty days,” Mona said.
Mohamed, another applicant, said overcrowding, limited staff and technical breakdowns have caused widespread frustration.
“We scrape together the fees, then stand in long queues, but any malfunction halts everything completely. We need urgent organizational and technical remedies,” Mohamed said.
The embassy posted on its Facebook page guidelines for organizing services, staying that applicants are received according to pre‑announced schedules from Monday through Friday, 8am to 1pm, and must present their electronic registration codes.
Abdelrahman said the embassy submitted a report to the Foreign Ministry recommending that the fee reduction request be forwarded to the federal Ministry of Finance.
“We recognize the hardship faced by Sudanese here, and we hope that our appeals will find sympathetic ears to lighten their burden,” he said.
Chad: Sudanese refugee women in Touloum face dire conditions
Chad- At the Touloum camp in Wadi Fira, eastern Chad, thousands of Sudanese refugee women endure appalling humanitarian conditions, marked by an almost complete absence of essential services and severe deterioration in health, nutrition and education.
Many survivors describe life in the camp as “an impossible struggle for survival.”
The refugees who spoke to Atar reported that the camp lacks even the most basic standards of dignified living. There is no emergency care or specialized medical support, particularly for pregnant women and those with chronic illnesses.
The World Food Programme allocates roughly 1,600 Central African francs, less than $3, per refugee each month, which cannot cover even a single meal daily. Consequently, many rely on limited small-scale farming or backbreaking labour under unsafe conditions.
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by the war and displacement. Psychosocial support and women’s empowerment programmes are absent and there are no effective educational or vocational training activities.
Children have been forced to drop out of school due to lack of functional classrooms or the camp’s limited capacity. Most shelters are makeshift structures of straw or rudimentary materials, without basic facilities such as latrines and clean water.
“The health situation is terrifying. Childbirths occur in inhumane conditions, without ambulances, directly endangering mothers. We dread the approaching rainy season because without sanitation and with dilapidated facilities, diseases will spread rapidly among children,” Fatima Fadl Jaser, a women’s leader and refugee at Touloum, told Atar.
More than a year after mass displacement from Sudan began, the international response remains “below expectations,” according to camp reports.
Fatima Jaser and other women implored the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to intervene urgently and improve living conditions, especially as refugee numbers swell and sustainable solutions remain absent.
“We fled bombs and death in Sudan, but here in Touloum we are dying slowly, without clean water, adequate food, or anyone to care,” one refugee said.
“This camp is not a refuge; it is a daily survival test,” another concluded, bitterly.
Sudanese secondary school students in Touloum and neighboring camps face mounting obstacles to their right to education, with no practical remedies in sight.
Although the Chadian government approved in-country exams on June 24, logistical constraints prevented student participation. The Sudanese embassy in Abéché has since announced plans for alternative examinations at a later date.
Last December, authorities barred nearly 6,000 students from sitting exams despite repeated registration efforts. Students continue to suffer from a lack of official documents, textbooks and poor living conditions.
None of the exam centres proposed by Touloum camp head Hamid Abdelrahman, including the camp itself, have been approved, deepening fears among students and their families that an entire academic year will be lost.
Cholera ravages displaced residents amid worsening humanitarian crisis and resource shortage
North Kordofan- The city is facing an escalating health and humanitarian crisis as cholera spreads widely and displaced residents flood in from conflict zones.
Medical sources told Atar that during May and June, Al-Obeid’s government hospital registered 30 to 40 new cholera cases daily, far exceeding its 100‑bed capacity and forcing authorities to erect tents and temporary wards for patients.
Fatalities now range from seven to 18 per day, according to hospital records, amid severe shortages of medical supplies and trained personnel.
A Health ministry official said that although efforts are under way to contain the outbreak, the continuous influx of displaced persons is overwhelming facilities and hampering response measures.
In makeshift camps and hastily set reception centres, thousands of displaced people live without clean drinking water or adequate latrines, raising the risk of disease outbreaks.
“Food rations cover less than half of those in need,” said Saad Hassan, who fled El-Adhia. “With no sanitation facilities, many resort to open defecation, worsening the health hazard.”
The North Kordofan Humanitarian Aid Commission estimates that more than 370,000 displaced families have arrived in Al-Obeid, with some settling with relatives and others sleeping on bare ground under improvised shelters. The Commission has acknowledged a shortfall in its capacity to meet these needs, citing critical shortages of food supplies, hygiene kits and essential medicines.
With the rainy season forecast to begin any time soon, doctors and health officials warn that cholera transmission will intensify and living conditions for the displaced will deteriorate further. Ongoing conflict in North Kordofan still disrupts aid convoys and prevents sustainable water and sanitation infrastructure, underscoring the urgent need for greater international support.
Water crisis deepens in Wad Madani
Al-Jazirah- Despite its closeness to the Blue Nile, Wad Madani has long endured acute water shortages in several neighbourhoods, a problem that intensified after Rapid Support Forces (RSF) occupied the city for over a year and inflicted widespread damage.
Engineer Badr al-Din Abdullah Abdel Wahab, the director general of the Al-Jazirah State Water Authority, told Atar that RSF fighters destroyed all pumping stations, damaged purification facilities, and vandalized cables and transformers. Wahab added that many residents resorted to excavating streets to tap into main water lines during the RSF’s control.
One month after the Sudanese Armed Forces retook Wad Madani on January 11, 2024, authorities brought the main treatment plant back online, reopened groundwater wells and installed more than 100 solar units to power distribution, according to the Water Authority director. Wahab said the plant now yields about 20,000 cubic metres per day, supplemented by 109 neighbourhood wells.
Nonetheless, residents still rely on water sold in barrels, which strains household budgets, especially for large families. Supply trucks deliver to eastern neighborhoods only two days a week, or as fuel for generators allows, while western and central areas receive no piped service.
Locals blame persistent outages on the network breaches created by residents during RSF rule, which cut off water to many homes.
Intermittent electricity further aggravates the shortage, Wahab noted, appealing for additional aid to replace lost infrastructure. He stressed that their priority remains securing safe drinking water for Wad Madani and the wider Al-Jazirah State.
Fatima Abdullah, of the western neighbourhoods, spends half her day in a long queue under the blazing sun to fetch water.
“The crisis burdens everyone,” she told Atar, adding that children risk illness standing in line.
Seventy-year-old Amina said her grandson fell ill carrying water daily.
Atar’s correspondent observed barrel vendors filling from eastern supplies and selling to western residents.
Mariam Ahmed, of the western neighbourhoods, said her family needs more than one barrel per day, and prices vary by neighbourhood.
A seller explained that large barrels sell for between 3,000 and 6,000 SDG, and can spike to 10,000, depending on local demand. He noted that some eastern homes still lack water even with solar pumps.
Iman, who lives in an eastern neighbourhood, said restored piped service has eased her daily burden.
“I used to wake up before dawn to fill containers and return by four in the afternoon,” she told Atar.
