Unexploded ordnance and landmines left behind after years of conflict pose a growing danger to residents returning to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, since the army recaptured the city last year.
For the past eight months, Jasmar, a Sudanese organization specializing in demining, has been working to clear the popular Al Mogran Park of unexploded ordnance and landmines. This park is one of at least seven minefields identified in Khartoum State.
“We came to this site after two soldiers were wounded in this area. We were tasked with going to Al Mogran Park, which was a recreational area for the population before the war. After the war, it was transformed into a military zone or combat zone,” said Juma Abuanja, team leader at Jasmar.
The Sudanese government and humanitarian organizations stress that this problem is particularly acute in and around Khartoum, where residents, many of whom are unaware of the threat, have begun returning after the Sudanese army recaptured the capital last year.
Decades of conflict in Sudan have left unexploded ordnance scattered throughout the country, contaminating a total area equivalent to approximately 7,700 football fields.
More than half of this situation is due to the war that broke out in 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces, which has affected new regions, such as Khartoum State.
"In the 44,000 square meters we are currently inspecting, we have found 164 shells, explosives and grenades. We have also found 1,200 rounds of small arms ammunition, as well as shells, 22 anti-personnel mines and nine anti-tank mines," said Mr. Abuanja.
Some sites are located on the outskirts. Others are located in the city center. Some are located near major bridges.
Nearly 60 people were injured or killed in Khartoum State last year, more than half of them children, and 23 were injured or killed in the first three months of this year, including 21 children, according to the United Nations.
According to humanitarian organizations, both the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been accused of laying mines during the war, while they fought for control of the capital.
The city of Khartoum remains a ghost town, littered with the remnants of the fighting. The charred and abandoned buildings are riddled with bullet holes.
According to the UN, tens of thousands of people have returned to the city and 1.7 million have returned to Khartoum State.
According to the UN, deminers have cleared some 7.8 million square meters of land in Khartoum State over the past year. They have discovered more than 36,000 devices, including hundreds of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines.
Those who can be safely relocated are destroyed far from inhabited areas. Those who cannot be relocated are destroyed on site.
Khaled Abdulgader, who had been injured by an unexploded device, saw children playing with a grenade and tried to stop them.
“I was coming home from work when I saw some children playing with a grenade. I approached them and said, ‘Please don’t touch that and take it to the authorities,’ but they didn’t listen to me,” said Abdulgader.
He said that the children kept throwing stones at him and that when he tried to pick one up, it exploded.
He lost two fingers, and shrapnel pierced his chest.
Admitted to a hospital in Omdurman for a health check-up following last year's explosion, he was trying to stay positive.
“I thought to myself, ‘Thank God, it only concerned me,’” Abdulgader said.
He is one of hundreds of people who have been injured or killed by unexploded ordnance during the three years of war in Sudan. This includes mines as well as weapons such as bombs, shells, grenades, and rockets that failed to explode—tens of thousands of devices in total.
