Gubara al-Basheer and his family used to traverse Sudan’s desert with their camels and livestock, moving freely between markets, water sources, and green pastures.
But since war erupted in 2023, he and other Arab nomads have been stuck in the desert outside the central Sudanese city of al-Obeid, threatened by marauding bandits and ethnic tensions.
The war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has left nearly 14 million people displaced, triggered rounds of ethnic bloodshed, and spread famine and disease.
It has also upset the delicate balance of land ownership and livestock routes that had maintained the nomads’ livelihoods and wider relations in the area, local Researcher Ibrahim Jumaa said.
Al-Obeid is one of Sudan’s largest cities and capital of North Kordofan state, which has seen the war’s heaviest fighting in recent months.
Those who spoke to Reuters from North Kordofan said they found themselves trapped as ethnic hatred, linked to the war and fuelled largely online, spreads.
“We used to be able to move as we wanted. Now there is no choice and no side accepts you,” al-Basheer said.
“In the past there were a lot of markets where we could buy and sell. No one hated anyone or rejected anyone. Now it’s dangerous,” he said.
–Reuters
