The Naked Truth: Khartoum: A City the War Has Not Left…!

Ibrahim Shaglawi

Since President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan issued, on July 18, 2025, a decision to evacuate the capital of military formations within a specified period, observers expected the move to be presented as a step toward restoring civilian life. It was also seen as a test of the state’s ability to regain control over its security and political center after an existential war that stripped citizens of their safety and stability.

However, what followed the decision does not reflect its logic, as it collides with a more complex reality on the ground.

Despite the apparent end of overt manifestations of war, the networks of influence it produced remain embedded within the structure of power in Khartoum, where the roles of the police intersect with those of armed movements, mobilized groups, and others.

Therefore, implementing the decision requires not only removing weapons from the streets, but also dismantling the balances that were entrenched during the war. This will determine whether the capital can regain its stability or remain trapped in a condition of “shared control among multiple actors” that undermines state authority.

Khartoum today, despite all that is said about its recovery, has not truly been left by the war. Some of its loud manifestations may have faded, but its effects remain embedded in the details of daily life, in the structure of power, and in the memory of its people. Thus, it has become necessary for the state to reclaim its monopoly over the use of force within its political center.

No capital can restore its well-being while sharing its space with armed formations—some operating within official frameworks, others moving along their margins, and yet others imposing their presence by the force of reality rather than the legitimacy of law.

At the same time, indicators of citizens returning to Khartoum are on the rise—a return that, on the surface, reflects a natural longing for home, and also expresses a psychological readiness to grant the state another chance. Yet this return, in all its details and challenges, remains conditional: that those returning find a city different from the one they left behind.

It is neither security-wise, politically, nor morally acceptable for a citizen to return home only to be confronted with the same undisciplined military manifestations that were among the direct reasons for their displacement or forced migration. For if return is not built upon a genuine sense of safety and security, it turns into a cautious and temporary presence within a circle of anxiety.

The war has fundamentally altered the citizen’s relationship with the concept of security. Security is no longer measured by the quantity of weapons present, but by the extent of their absence from daily life. The presence of armed elements within neighborhoods—even under different banners—is now met with suspicion and unease, as it evokes a recent memory of wounds that have yet to heal. Hence, the continuation of such manifestations is not perceived as a precautionary measure, but as a failure to transition from the logic of managing war to that of building peace.

At the heart of this scene, fears do not appear as mere speculation or concerns, but as a lived reality voiced by the people. Several readers of “The Naked Truth” have reached out, conveying genuine concern for their families, as they observe the presence of armed individuals in neighborhoods that are supposed to be reclaiming their civilian character—in areas such as Al-Thawrat, Madinat Al-Nil, Al-Riyadh, and Bahri. These individuals wear attire with heavy connotations in the public psyche, such as the “kadmol.” Some have reported hearing gunfire without knowing its circumstances, as movement at night has become fraught with risk.

These scenes reproduce fear in the hearts of children and burden women with relentless anxiety and an unbearable sense of insecurity.

These testimonies are not a stance against the state, but rather an appeal to it—a reflection of a desire for this phase to succeed, and for decisions to translate into tangible reality. However, concern is no longer entirely contained. Some, along with others, have expressed readiness to organize protest vigils in streets, around schools, and within residential neighborhoods, rejecting the return of armed manifestations regardless of their justification.

This development should not be read as escalation, but as an early warning to those in charge that the distance between trust and tension is narrowing, and that the patience forged by suffering is beginning to wear thin.

The challenge, however, does not stop at removing military manifestations, but extends to how the vacuum they leave behind is filled. Experiences, both near and far, show that an uncalculated withdrawal of force may open the door to a new chaos, more complex than the previous one.

Therefore, the success of the decision depends on the state’s ability to rebuild a civilian security system based on a professional police force, an effective judiciary, and institutions capable of enforcing the law without themselves becoming a source of concern. Security, in the end, is not merely the absence of danger, but also the presence of justice.

From this standpoint, according to #The_Naked_Truth, the call today is clearly directed to officials in government and state leadership to act urgently before the situation worsens. People, in their painful simplicity, can no longer endure being tested twice: once when they were forced out of their homes under the weight of fear, and again when they are asked to return without any change in the conditions of safety. Managing this moment does not allow for hesitation, because what is being tested now is not only the stability of the capital, but the credibility of the state and its leadership.

Wishing you continued health and well-being.

Monday, April 27, 2026

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