The Attack

I think by now everyone has heard of the JEM attack on Khartoum, which is unheard of - I don't think since the Mahdi times (when he fought the British in the 19th Century) has Khartoum itself been under siege by armed groups. but then again, I've just been here 2 years and Sudan has been through numerous coups in its 52 year history! Anyway, it's been 2 weeks since the rebels descended onto Ombdurman, which is the old capital city of Sudan, and is located just under 20km from our home in Khartoum Two.

Friday, 9th May
We heard of it at first as a possible threat, and we were advised to stay indoors - which we did - I was supposed to bring Ehsan swimming that evening.

Saturday, 10th May - evening
When nothing happend, we assumed that it was just rumors flying about. Until the next day that is, when Ckn received a call around 6pm, from a friend who is working in Ombdurman (the person was specifically in a place called Souq Libya - a market next to where we have our kharouf breakfasts). She told us that she could hear gunshots and a huge commotion from the streets. The fighting had begun.

The first thing going thru my mind was the safety of my family; I knew it was safer to stay put, and not appear on the streets. Ckn took it on herself to start communicating by any means necessary with all our friends in the city (ym? facebook? u name it, she had it! both my cousin Azlie and brother Fyan helped manned the Malaysia end!) while I tried to contact our security manager. The phone lines were undependable due to the congestion. I received a call from Mama from Malaysia the moment the news broke on CNN. Although we have never been thru this kind of experience before, I think we all kept our heads as everyone in our block was kept informed of what was happening in Ombdurman.

I kept going to the rooftop to check the conditions on the roads (which looked pretty normal to me - people were milling about, but traffic was light. A curfew was being imposed). But I felt something in my gut (and gasped!) when I looked to the west; we can make out the smoke trails in the distance, and see flashes from the fighting - and once in a while, we can hear loud noises, booms and even felt vibrations in our appartment.

Saturday, 10th May - night
Major fighting ended at dusk. In all, heavy fighting lasted for about 3 hours that Saturday, although reports said it started much earlier than that. Khartoum was eerily quiet that night. Most buildings were lit, including the Fateh tower which can be act as a beacon for anyone looking for the Presidential Palace (which was the prime objective of the rebels). The main road in front of our block was blacked out, but a strategic bridge leading to Khartoum North was lit.

Ckn wouldn't leave her makeshift communications center (read:laptop in the bedroom!), so I made us a simple instant noodle dinner, which she readily devoured despite earlier protests. The kids were their usual selves, but even they noticed our anxiety and kept out of our way (most of the time!). I wasn't concerned about food or drinking water lasting a few days, as we just went shopping on Friday, but I did fill the kids wading pool and charged all 3 emergency lamps, just in case (Others weren't so lucky. My big boss was due to leave on the ill-fated day, but had to turn back as the airport was closed - and as he was not expecting to stay in Khartoum, he didn't keep extra cash or had fresh food for 2 days...)

Throughout the day, Sudan TV was only broadcasting folk songs and documentaries, until around 9pm when the first news report on the 'failed' attack was broadcast. We couldn't understand the news, but the pictures spoke for themselves - burning 4WDs on the roads, captured vehicles and heavy weapons being driven around by security personnel and militias, prisoners, and of course, bloodied corpses. I stayed up late to watch all the news channels to get any scrap of information possible.

Sunday, 11th May
Although the rebels didn't cross the bridge from Ombdurman into Khartoum, they did however, managed to disappear in the vast surburbs of Ombdurman. So the curfew was extended a few times, and we all just 'worked from home' that Sunday (hehe if you can call it that). The situation was calm, but we _think_ we heard some shooting in the distance.

Monday, 12th May - midday
On Monday we were told that the situation was under control and that we were allowed back to the office. Traffic was nearly normal, although Ombdurman was still closed off. There was a sense of normalcy at the office, and everyone was excited to share their experience of the attack.

But any illusions of safety were crushed when we started hearing about 'clashes' at midday - and in Khartoum no less! So we just put everything down, and scrambled for our block drivers to come and pick us up! hehe - got an earful from Ckn for that episode! (We learned later that there were clashes with students and not rebels, and that the city was secure). To be sure, we only went back to work on Tuesday, 13th May, and even that was at midday. Alhamdullillah, nothing untoward happend!

So that was how we spent a 'nice' weekend cooped up while the city was under siege. We have friends who have even revisited the kharuf market recently and reported things are back to normal. We didn't realise how many friends and families prayed for our safety. Life here may have returned back to normal, but it doesn't feel normal - not anymore. We are comforatble going out, but seeing the extra 'uniforms' on every corner does raise our anxiety occasionally. The rebels may have lost terribly, but they did win in some ways too.

Epilogue
Back in the office on Monday and Tuesday, we all came together to try and figure out how the rebels managed to attack Khartoum. I've enclosed our observations here for my benefit (there is nothing secret here; everything was as reported in the press, but the maps are mine). Click on the picture below for a bigger size :

p/s Our home in Khartoum Two is right next to the airport...