• A teacher and schoolboys trapped in their school during the gunfighting on Saturday. All photos: Rania Mahmood
    A teacher and schoolboys trapped in their school during the gunfighting on Saturday. All photos: Rania Mahmood
  • One schoolboy was injured by a stray bullet
    One schoolboy was injured by a stray bullet
  • Schoolboys on the floor of their classrooms during the conflict
    Schoolboys on the floor of their classrooms during the conflict

Sudanese mother describes harrowing hours her children were under siege at school


Nada AlTaher
  • English
  • Arabic

Follow the latest news from the Sudan crisis here

On Saturday morning, Rania and Sharaf Al Din's children, Mohammad and Hassan, left their home at 6.30am thinking it would be just another day at school.

Less than three hours later, shelling began in Sudan.

"They had been at school for two hours and remained stuck there until 5.30pm. That is, from 9.30am, we were unable to reach the school," Rania, a mother of five, told The National.

Their father walked on foot for three hours amid shelling, rockets and gunfire by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the military to reach his children, Rania said.

"The school principal was sending out distress calls to the parents. They were able to lock the children all up in the classrooms and made them lay down on the floor of their classrooms. One child, my eldest son's friend, was hit by a stray bullet in the back.

"We were living in fear."

Rania was unable to see her children until the next day as their father had taken them to a close relative's home in Khartoum.

On Sunday, a three-hour UN-brokered ceasefire was announced. It collapsed shortly after it began but Rania's husband and the children managed to make their way home.

She said the RSF had "stopped my kids and their father on their way to me. But upon seeing them in their school clothes, they were let go."

'Bleeding at home'

As the battles rage on for a fifth day, some residents are running out of food and water. Others, it is claimed, are being left bleeding at home, unable to receive assistance from medical teams that are also being attacked.

"I can't describe what's happening on the streets because we're not leaving our home," Sulaima Issac Issa, 47, told The National. "All we do is hear the shelling and gunfire. There aren't even sirens to warn us when a rocket has been fired. There is no such alarm system. We weren't even told beforehand to prepare ourselves or to stock up on food and supplies before this all began.

"I am just staying here at home with my children and watching the news and staying up to date on social media. There is no clear way out, no safe corridors and the shelling often begins in the early hours of the morning, at 4am."

Damage to a house in Khartoum. Reuters
Damage to a house in Khartoum. Reuters

"The situation is terrifying and gloomy.

"We're only able to go to the grocers nearby at 3am when it's slightly quieter, to get more supplies. Otherwise, the neighbourhood is a ghost town. Everything is closed. There are no people on the streets."

Footage seen by The National showed bodies of RSF fighters on the streets, wrapped in blankets, with pools of what appears to be blood nearby.

"People are getting retraumatised by the sound of gunfire," she said, referring to the violence of 2019 when hundreds of people were shot during protests that toppled dictator Omar Al Bashir.

Living in a warzone

Ola Adil is living with her mother and sister in Kafouri, Khartoum.

From her window, she is able to see rockets being launched by the RSF.

"We are living literally among RSF housing camps.

"Sudanese army forces have been trying to target them all since Saturday."

She says some RSF members have left their positions and are taking shelter in residents' homes.

With frequent power cuts compounding their problems, residents are having to charge their phones in their cars to let their loved ones know that they are still alive.

On Wednesday, the Committee of Sudan's Doctors' Union said ambulances were being targeted and have been unable to reach the injured. Electricity and fuel shortages mean hospitals are severely under-equipped. Many hospitals have been destroyed and others have been forcibly evacuated.

"So many of our neighbours have been killed," Ms Adil, a student, says.

"May their souls rest in peace."

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  • Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
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Hunting park to luxury living
  • Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
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  • Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds

 

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

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Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera

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Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

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Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

PROFILE BOX

Company name: Overwrite.ai

Founder: Ayman Alashkar

Started: Established in 2020

Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai

Sector: PropTech

Initial investment: Self-funded by founder

Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors

Various Artists 
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
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Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill

Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.

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The seven points are:

Shakhbout bin Sultan Street

Dhafeer Street

Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)

Salama bint Butti Street

Al Dhafra Street

Rabdan Street

Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)

Brief scores:

Newcastle United 1

Perez 23'

Wolverhampton Rovers 2

Jota 17', Doherty 90' 4

Red cards: Yedlin 57'

Man of the Match: Diogo Jota (Wolves)

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

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Manchester United (2004-2017)

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England (2003-)

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Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

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Monster

Directed by: Anthony Mandler

Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington 

3/5

 

Islamophobia definition

A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.

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Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

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The bio

Favourite food: Japanese

Favourite car: Lamborghini

Favourite hobby: Football

Favourite quote: If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough

Favourite country: UAE

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Updated: April 19, 2023, 12:55 PM