Deadly fighting in Sudan has Manitobans worried about loved ones in Khartoum

When a rocket hit the third floor of Mekki Mohamed's aunt's apartment building in Khartoum, Sudan, Mohamed said she knew it was time to leave. 

His aunt's now among more than 50 people staying at Mohamed's father's two-storey home in southern Khartoum, a city home to 12 million people.

"They just decided to lock the house, lock the windows and flee away," said Mohamed, general secretary of the executive committee of the Community of the Sudanese Canadian in Manitoba. "It shaked the building and then they got scared," he said, adding his aunt decided it wasn't safe, and she wasn't going to stay there.

A power struggle between two rival generals has led to fighting in Sudan that started April 15. Hundreds of people, including civilians, have been killed and thousands more have been injured.  

"There is lots of dead bodies on the street," said Mohamed, who gets updates from his family through WhatsApp. 

Supplies scarce

Food and water have been hard to come by for some residents, and electricity and internet access have been cut off in parts of the country.

Foreign governments have evacuated diplomats, staff and others trapped in the country while Canada announced Sunday it was suspending consular services in the country.

While Mohamed's in Winnipeg, he has other relatives in the country including sisters, and worries the violence will only get worse with international partners leaving Sudan.

"That means for me … we are out, we'll leave you alone," Mohamed said. "I would like to see more pressure on both sides."

He wants a ceasefire to give civilians hunkered down amid the fighting a chance to gather supplies, food and water.

Late Monday, Anthony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, announced the two sides had agreed to extend a ceasefire as foreign nations work to get their own citizens out of Sudan.

Mohamed is concerned the fighting will continue during the ceasefire.

Noureddin Suleiman, a Sudanese Manitoban who has lived in Winnipeg since 1999, hopes a ceasefire gives people like his mom and sister who are currently in the capital Khartoum a chance to go somewhere safer. 

"They're going to run out of water soon, they're going to run out of food as well," Suleiman said. 

His mom lives with Type 2 diabetes and has no way of keeping her insulin cold.

"They cut [the] electrical now [for] five days," Suleiman said. "I advised them to make as much ice as they could and leave it in the freezer … the insulin, it has to be chilled. I was talking to her today and she said all the ice melt[ed]," Suleiman said. 

Mohamed said he knows of one Sudanese Manitoban who was in the country who was able to get to Egypt.

Nearly 1,600 Canadians were registered in Sudan as of Sunday.

Global Affairs Canada has provided few details on plans to get Canadians out of Sudan, however, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday a German plane airlifted 58 Canadians citizens and a Canadian C-17 is in the region to help more people escape.

Mohamed said his family members have no interest in leaving Sudan, but they are concerned for their safety and well-being. He was scheduled to take part in a meeting with other Sudanese Canadian leaders from across the country and Mélanie Joly, Canada's foreign affairs minister, on Monday night to discuss Canada's response to the situation.  

Members of the Sudanese community in Manitoba are planning a fundraiser at the Chalmers Community Centre on April 29 between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., Mohamed said.