over the years, i've returned to omdurman many times.amiliarity of crossing the nile and the smell of the river. this is the first time i have seen omdurman since the war started last year. i check in on my mother's cousin. he survived the months this area was controlled by the rapid support forces. his house was hit by mortar fire twice. so this is the shell that fell in the house. and the shrapnel is still in his arm. these streets and alleyways would have been alive with kids playing football and screaming and shouting. this neighbourhood is 125 years old. this is the first time it is probably this empty. i am now going to go in and say hello to my auntie. all of these are bullet holes by the rsf. they were apparently just trying to intimidate the women. this is as far south in omdurman as i could go. as close to khartoum as i could get. this is as far as the army would allow us. i can see the yellow bridge that takes you from omdurman to khartoum. it fills me with a lot of sadness that i cannot cross to the other side of the city. it