Khartoum Today: Sudan's Civil War and a City in Ruins

Capital of South Sudan, the world's youngest independent country since 2011, Juba sits on the White Nile in a territory rich in wildlife still little explored by tourism.

Not far from the capital extend savanna and wetlands that host one of Africa's largest ungulate migrations, less famous than those of eastern Africa but equally impressive.

Since April 2023 Khartoum has been the scene of open war between the regular Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary militia once allied with the government.

Fighting has razed entire neighborhoods of the capital to the ground, causing tens of thousands of deaths and triggering one of the world's most severe displacement crises, with millions of people fleeing.

The National Museum of Sudan was looted during fighting, with the loss or dispersal of some of the Nubian archaeological collections it housed.

Almost all foreign diplomatic missions have evacuated Khartoum, and any travel to the country remains categorically discouraged until a lasting ceasefire is reached.

Before the war, Khartoum offered views of the confluence of the two Niles, the National Museum with its Nubian treasures, and the great souks of Omdurman, all now out of reach.

The end of the conflict between the army and the RSF is necessary not only for tourism but for the very survival of Sudan's remaining cultural heritage.