Sudan’s Burri Neighborhood: Life Under Siege & Urban Conflict – MERIP Podcast

Sudanese Armed Forces Control of Khartoum Detailed in New Research

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) regained control of key areas of Khartoum, including the Burri neighborhood, in March 2025, ending a two-year siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to recent reports and a new study of the conflict.

A new article by Niema Alhessen, published in the Winter 2025 issue of Middle East Report, titled “Burri Under Siege—How War Remade Everyday Life in a Sudanese Neighborhood,” details the experiences of residents during the RSF’s siege of Burri, a strategically important neighborhood in central Khartoum. The siege began in April 2023 and continued until the SAF’s advance in March 2025.

Alhessen’s research, discussed in a recent episode of the MERIP Podcast, focuses on how residents sustained life within Burri through makeshift institutions and mutual aid networks even as negotiating with both the RSF and SAF to secure essential aid. The study also examines the historical roots of the militarization of Khartoum, tracing it back to the Anglo-Egyptian condominium in the late nineteenth century.

The SAF’s retaking of Khartoum, after more than 23 months of civil war, marks a significant shift in the conflict, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The RSF is largely comprised of Janjaweed militias previously allied with the Sudanese government.

Beyond the visible destruction of residential areas through relentless shelling, Sudanese civilians face a broader existential crisis as the war disrupts daily life, forcing mass displacement. As of April 2025, approximately 11.3 million people had been internally displaced within Sudan, while nearly 4 million had sought refuge in neighboring countries like Egypt and Chad, according to a report from the London School of Economics.

Alhessen’s work highlights the transformation of everyday living spaces into battlegrounds, a pattern increasingly common in urban conflicts. The podcast episode featuring Alhessen was recorded on March 4, 2026, and featured co-host Deen Sharp, an LSE Fellow in Human Geography.