Sudanese American Haneen Sidahmed is digitizing cassettes tapes of classic Sudanese songs dating back to the 1960s. In the process, she’s created a music archive called Sudan Tapes Archive. Reporter Hana Baba, of station KALW and the podcast, “The Stoop,” talked to Sidahmed about how her work has taken on new urgency amid war in Sudan.
Fighting continued on Wednesday on the outskirts of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. A short-term ceasefire is in place, but the United Nations says it is only partially successful. Over the last 12 days, hundreds of people have been killed. Sudanese residents from the capital region are making tough decisions about leaving.
The fighting between Sudan’s rival armed forces continues to have a devastating impact on civilians and civilian infrastructure across the country. Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed. The fighting has also damaged Sudan’s health facilities, making it difficult for the country’s health workers to help those caught in the crosshairs.
The country’s military, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary began fighting on Saturday, following weeks of tensions. Pressure from international and regional players has so far failed to deescalate the conflict.
This week, coup leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said he would support a full transition back to civilian rule in Sudan. But the offer was promptly rejected by the political opposition. “We do not trust, nor do we believe the military,” Sudanese activist Daliah Abdel-Moneim told The World’s Marco Werman.