Sudanese attend Eid al-Fitr prayers, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at the Port Sudan Stadium on 30 March 2025. [Getty]
For the second year in a row, Eid al-Fitr arrives in Sudan under the shadow of war. But in Khartoum and Omdurman, where battles have raged for over a year, some residents describe a cautious sense of hope amid hardship.
In Omdurman, just across the Nile from the capital, shops and bakeries displayed modest Eid offerings – Kaak biscuits and children’s clothes – despite shortages and the threat of renewed violence.
“It feels different from last year. While the city is still struggling, there’s a cautious sense of life returning,” Mohammed Moumen, a 25-year-old Omdurman resident, told The New Arab.
On Saturday, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) announced they had gained control of parts of Souq Libya, a major market in western Omdurman that had been a strategic location for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The group had used the area as a base for military operations.
Still, residents remain on edge. Moumen noted that people fear possible RSF drone strikes or renewed fighting in urban areas, especially during public gatherings like Eid prayers.
In the early hours of Sunday, mosques in parts of Khartoum state were only partially filled, as concerns over safety kept many worshippers at home.
In Port Sudan, the current seat of Sudan’s internationally recognised government, larger crowds gathered for Eid prayers in relative calm. It was the first Eid where, for some, the idea of peace seemed slightly less remote.
“People are also struggling financially. After two years of war and displacement, we are broken economically and emotionally,” Moumen said.
Hind Ahmed, who fled from Khartoum to Port Sudan, told TNA: “Eid is about family and friends. But we lost most of them – to war, to exile.”
The conflict in Sudan erupted in April 2023, stemming from a bitter power struggle between the head of the SAF, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti). The fighting derailed a fragile transition to civilian rule and has since spiralled into one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.
The RSF, which evolved from the Janjaweed militia accused of atrocities in Darfur, has been accused of widespread human rights violations, including mass killings and sexual violence, particularly in West Darfur. The group denies these charges.
According to the UN, the war has displaced over 12 million people and left nearly half of Sudan’s population in need of food assistance.
On 26 March, General Burhan visited the presidential palace in Khartoum and declared the city “liberated”. Crowds gathered in some areas to celebrate, but much of the capital remains a battleground. The RSF continues to control parts of Bahri and western Omdurman – key components of the “Triangular Capital” along with Khartoum.
Videos circulating online show ongoing destruction, looting, and lawlessness in areas retaken by the army. The RSF has vowed to continue its campaign, and fighting remains active in Darfur, Kordofan, and parts of Gezira state.
“The joy of victory will not be complete until the last rebel is eliminated,” Burhan said in his Eid address.
For many Sudanese, however, the cost of this war has already been too high.
“It’s hard to find the spirit to celebrate. I try to fake it for my children, but we’ve endured too much loss, too much pain, too much displacement,” said Sarah Ahmed, a Sudanese refugee in Egypt.
For many, Eid in Sudan also recalls a darker chapter. In June 2019, just days before the holiday, security forces violently dispersed a sit-in outside army headquarters in Khartoum, killing over 100 peaceful protesters. The massacre became a symbol of the struggle for democratic transition – and the military’s betrayal of that promise.
Today, Sudan’s future remains uncertain. The SAF has accused the United Arab Emirates of backing the RSF, an allegation echoed in UN reports and by U.S. lawmakers, though the UAE has denied any involvement.
In March, Sudan filed a case against the UAE at the International Court of Justice, accusing it of violating the Genocide Convention by supporting RSF forces allegedly involved in atrocities in Darfur. The UAE has rejected the case as “politically motivated”.
For now, Sudan remains fractured and exhausted. But for some, the resilience of its people is itself a source of hope.
“This Eid isn’t about improved conditions,” said Moumen. “It’s about Sudanese resilience. It’s about an unwavering belief that better days will come.”
