A doctor in grey-green clothes and a face mask walks into the crowded reception area of Khartoum Teaching Hospital. A thick layer of sweat is visible over his forehead.
The room is filled with dozens of visibly exhausted women; some stand while others sit on the floor, slumped against the bare white walls.
In an exasperated tone, he says to the audience: “Speak freely, people, so that we can get out of this disaster. The oxygen will run out, the patients will die – we ourselves will die.”
The women are part of a sudden influx of patients caused by the evacuation of the nearby Al-Shaab Teaching Hospital amid heavy fighting in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. University hospital staff had called for urgent help to facilitate the evacuation, but they were unable to leave until Wednesday.
The secretary of the Sudanese doctors’ syndicate, Dr. Attia Abdullah Attia, told Al Jazeera that a rocket-propelled grenade had crashed into the Al-Shaab Teaching Hospital.
The video recorded Monday is just one of many posted on social media since Khartoum was engulfed in fighting between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) five days ago. Many of these videos show the terrifying realities faced by civilians as the city slides into chaotic violence.
According to the United Nations, 185 people have been killed and another 1,800 injured so far.
Health system on the brink
Shocking images emerged from Al-Jawda Hospital, not far from Khartoum International Airport, where the bloodiest violence was seen.
It shows bodies in blood-soaked clothes lying in hospital beds and even on the floor as medical staff try to cope with the overwhelming number of patients entering the emergency department.
In a statement Posted The Sudanese health ministry said on Facebook on Wednesday that 16 hospitals in Khartoum state were forced to close, warning that the health system would “collapse completely” if the conflict continues and the number of closed hospitals continues to rise.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Attia said the two warring factions use the roofs of hospitals “as a headquarters for launching heavy weapons”.
“The Al-Saha Hospital in eastern Khartoum was occupied by the Rapid Support Forces and the Al-Shaab Teaching Hospital was occupied by the Sudanese armed forces,” Attia said.
He added that hospitals also faced shortages of equipment, medicines and blood bags.
Trapped students
Fierce fighting and aerial bombardments have engulfed the area where Khartoum University is located, trapping many students indoors.
On Monday, students attempted to evacuate the university, killing one person and seriously injuring another.
A widely shared video shows one of the evacuation attempts where students crawl through a hole in a brick wall while others climb a metal gate above.
Several men, some of whom appear armed, help pull them up from the floor. A column of people on the other side of the wall, surrounded by trees, waits patiently in line despite a cacophony of thuds, explosions and gunfire in the background.
1. 89 Students of Khartoum’s arts faculty have been trapped in a university library for two days after heavy fighting broke out between the army and the Rapid Support Forces on Saturday. Here’s an image of the situation, sent by a friend of one of the students. pic.twitter.com/9udSm9wWNT
— Simon Marks (@MarksSimon) April 17, 2023
Another video shows several rooms of a corporate office space where students have taken refuge. Visibly exhausted, many are slumped in office chairs, while others lie on the floor. A man leans against a water cooler while trying to rest.
Closure at home
For many civilians living in areas of heavy fighting, it is simply too dangerous to leave their homes, and images have emerged of terrified families forced to take shelter under furniture.
One such video shows grandparents trying to comfort crying children as they huddle under a wooden table as heavy shelling is heard outside their home.
War costs: students of the Comboni school in Qasr Street are trapped and cannot return to their families. The school is close to the presidential palace, a combat zone. It’s horrifying to think what they’re going through. #Sudan pic.twitter.com/GCxDGylGuC
— Hiba Morgan (@hiba_morgan) April 15, 2023
Danger on the street
It is not possible for everyone to stay indoors. A photo posted to Facebook appears to show smoke coming from an apartment complex.
An entire apartment appears to have been destroyed as the fire rages through the lower floors. On the street below, dozens of men, possibly residents of the complex, stand with their necks outstretched as the inferno engulfs the building.
Another video shows at least two men standing in a dusty residential street. The rumble of artillery can be heard in the distance. Suddenly there is a loud bang and sparks appear for a split second before the camera tumbles to the ground.
Online social media posts also appear to show looting in the streets of Khartoum. On one Facebook afterempty cardboard boxes are scattered on a street while shops appear to have been violently looted, their shutters ajar.
In another afterit appears there was an attempt to open a safe taken from the back of a ransacked store.
Moments of normality
In recent days, images have also surfaced showing parts of daily life amidst the violence.
A widely circulated video shows the moment a baby was born during the ongoing fighting – the family and doctors smiled and adored the newborn shortly after delivery.
Several posts appeared on social media claiming to show groups of men enjoying iftar, the fast-breaking evening meal during Ramadan, in the middle of a highway.
The footage, which shows them talking casually amid sounds of gunfire and explosions filling the air around them, was met with some amusement online.