Burri Under Siege: Urban Conflict and Everyday Life in Sudan

The siege of the Burri neighborhood in Khartoum from April 2023 to March 2025 highlights a critical shift in urban warfare, where civilian survival depends on makeshift institutions and mutual aid. According to researcher Niema Alhessen, residents in Burri navigated the conflict between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) by building autonomous support systems to procure aid and sustain daily life.

How does urban warfare reshape civilian survival?

When state structures collapse, neighborhoods don’t just vanish; they reorganize. In Burri, this looked like “makeshift institutions.” Residents stopped relying on official government channels and instead turned to each other. They created localized networks to share food, medicine, and security information.

Alhessen’s research in Middle East Report shows that survival became a matter of negotiation. Civilians had to play a dangerous game, dealing with both the RSF and the SAF to get basic supplies into the neighborhood. It wasn’t just about hiding; it was about active, strategic management of their environment.

Why does colonial history dictate modern city battles?

The way a city is built often determines how it’s fought. Alhessen points to the Anglo-Egyptian condominium of the late nineteenth century as the blueprint for Khartoum’s current struggles. The British didn’t just build roads; they designed the urban fabric to facilitate military control.

This “militarized urbanism” means that the streets of Khartoum were essentially pre-designed for surveillance and troop movement. When the RSF and SAF clashed in Burri, they weren’t just fighting in a residential area—they were operating within a spatial layout designed for colonial domination. This historical layer makes modern urban conflict more lethal and harder for civilians to escape.

For those interested in the architectural roots of this control, Marina D’Errico’s work on the British Master Plan of 1910 provides a stark look at how Omdurman and Khartoum were segmented to maintain power.

What happens to cities after a prolonged siege?

The transition from “siege” to “reconstruction” is rarely a clean process. As seen in the MERIP issue “Reconstruction and Ruin,” there’s often a clash between how a state wants to rebuild and how the people who survived the war actually need to live.

Future trends suggest we’ll see more “bottom-up” urbanism. Because residents in places like Burri spent years managing their own resources, they’re less likely to accept top-down reconstruction plans that ignore their lived experience. We’re seeing a global pattern where the “ruin” isn’t just a site of destruction, but a space where new, non-state forms of governance are born.

Comparing Survival Strategies: Formal vs. Informal

The conflict in Sudan offers a clear contrast in how aid is managed. While international NGOs often struggle with “access” due to bureaucratic hurdles or active combat, local networks operate on trust and proximity.

According to the ATAR Network, the “spirit of resistance” in Burri was fueled by bread and books—basic needs coupled with intellectual solidarity. This differs from the traditional humanitarian model, which often treats displaced populations as passive recipients rather than active organizers of their own survival.

Frequently Asked Questions

The struggle for Sudan isn’t just a political battle between generals; it’s a struggle over the very streets people walk on. For a deeper dive into the broader political context, read Khalid Mustafa Medani’s “The Struggle for Sudan”.