For Syrians in Sudan, returning home is not an option

Syrians living in Sudan thought the sound of airstrikes, rockets and gunfire was behind them.

They fled the war in their country and moved to Sudan, an Arab country that welcomed them.

However, the recent outbreak of fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has shattered the illusion of security.

Once again, some 30,000 Syrian refugees who have built a new life in Sudan face the threat of war – and the devastation that comes with it.

Syrian civilians have already died in Sudan, some of the more than 500 people killed in the 15 days of violence.

“Since the clashes began, the situation in the capital Khartoum has become very dire,” said Saleh Ismail al-Badran, a 30-year-old Syrian refugee originally from Raqqa.

“Sudanese families began to flee the city and only foreigners – including Syrians, Egyptians and citizens of African and European countries – remained on the streets on the first day of Eid al-Fitr. [April 21].”

Al-Badran, who has lived in Khartoum for six years and is married to a Sudanese woman, told Al Jazeera that he was initially afraid of being attacked by the two factions in the conflict. However, he soon realized that armed gangs, taking advantage of the deteriorating security situation, had become a greater threat.

“Many Syrian families were threatened, robbed and sometimes killed during their displacement from Khartoum at the hands of gangs. One of them was my friend, Ahmed, who along with his family was kidnapped by a gang when they left Khartoum,” said al-Badran.

“They stole all their belongings, including money and mobile phones, before one of the gang members killed Ahmed by shooting him twice in the head after he refused to let the gang search his wife.”

Traveling to Egypt?

Many Syrian families in Khartoum have traveled to Wadi Halfa, close to the Sudanese-Egyptian border, in an attempt to enter Egypt through the Argeen crossing, a route now taken by thousands of Sudanese.

However, al-Badran said Syrians have been denied entry by Egyptian border guards.

“Going to Egypt was my first choice, but I gave up after contacting my friends who went to the Egyptian border and explained to me how difficult the situation was there. [how tough] the desert is, and the difficulty of even obtaining drinking water amid the Egyptian forces’ refusal to let them in,” he said.

Instead, al-Badran has decided to stay home in Khartoum with his wife and brother, despite the continued shelling. A good friend and his family have also joined.

Going back to Syria is not an option. Al-Badran said he fled after two years of captivity by the Syrian government and the armed group ISIL (ISIS).

“No matter what happens to me and my family, I will never think about returning to Syria, where the regime rules [President] Bashar al-Assad,” said al-Badran.

That would be suicide

Many of the Syrians who have left Khartoum have traveled to safer parts of the country, such as Port Sudan in the northeast.

But with rents high and hotels costing even more, many are sleeping on the streets as they wait to be accommodated on ships carrying evacuees across the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia.

“It took more than 12 hours to travel from Khartoum to Port Sudan, during which we experienced unforgettable moments of fear, afraid that bandits would stand in our way,” said Abu Muhammad, a Syrian refugee from Eastern Ghouta, outside Damascus, he has been living in Khartoum with his wife and two children for nine years.

Muhammad told Al Jazeera he left Khartoum with his family after clashes intensified and electricity and water were cut off from his neighborhood.

“When I arrived in Port Sudan, we were surprised by the number of people of all nationalities waiting their turn to be evacuated through the airport or seaport,” Muhammad said.

“Three days ago we slept on the street near the evacuation center in Port Sudan because I couldn’t book a hotel room.

“I live in a state of loss today, unable to decide whether to stay in Port Sudan or go to Saudi Arabia. But we have heard that if we go to Saudi Arabia, we will be sent back to Syria. That would be suicide, because my return to Syria means I will be arrested by Assad’s forces.”