Khartoum, Sudan — Khalid Abdulgader saw children using an unusual object as a football and tried to stop them. He caught hold of it and it exploded in his hand. Two of his fingers were cut off and shrapnel entered his chest.
While in hospital for tests after the blast last year, he tried to stay positive.
“I’m like, ‘Thank God it was just my hands,'” Abdulgader said.
He is one of hundreds of people who have been injured or killed by unexploded ordnance in Sudan three years of war. This includes mines as well as weapons such as bombs, shells, grenades or rockets that failed to explode, thousands of items in total.
The government and aid groups say this is particularly a problem in and around Khartoum, where residents, unfamiliar with the danger, have begun to return after Sudanese forces recaptured the capital last year.
According to the United Nations, about 60 people were injured or killed in Khartoum state last year, more than half of whom were children, and 23 people were injured or killed in the first three months of this year, 21 of whom were children.
Decades of conflict in Sudan have left unexploded ordnance scattered across the country, contaminating a combined area of about 7,700 football fields.
More than half of this is the result of a war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group that broke out in 2023, affecting new areas such as Khartoum state.
According to aid groups, both the Sudanese army and the RSF have been accused of laying mines during the war as they fought for control of the capital.
“The presence of landmines and other explosive ordnance is a matter of great concern to everyone,” said Juma Abuanja, team leader of the Sudanese subversive group Jasmar.
He said that it will take many years to get cleaned up. Mining is a slow, careful process with workers covering 10 to 15 square meters per day.
The city of Khartoum is still a ghost town, filled with remnants of the battle. Burnt, abandoned buildings riddled with bullet holes.
Wandering the streets, AP journalists saw a soldier coming out of a house with a small metal object that appeared to be the tail of a rocket-propelled grenade after being called by a resident to assess the threat.
A member of the military media accompanied the AP during the trip, which also included interviews. The AP retains full editorial control over its content.
According to the United Nations, thousands of people have returned to the city and 1.7 million have returned to Khartoum state.
The UN says miners have cleared about 7.8 million square meters of land in Khartoum state over the past year. They found over 36,000 items, including hundreds of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines.
Those that are safe to move are destroyed away from populated areas. Those that cannot be removed are destroyed on the spot.
There is still much to be clarified as people try to rebuild their lives.
In Khartoum, Jasmar’s mining team has spent eight months clearing a popular park of land mines, one of at least seven identified mine areas in Khartoum state. Some places are on the outskirts. There are other cities. Some are near important bridges.
Taking off their heavy vests and face shields, team members rested under trees between shifts, avoiding the scorching sun last week.
Clearing of approximately 123,000 square meters in the park began in August and is expected to be completed in May. So far the group has found more than 160 devices, including anti-personnel and anti-tank mines.
Abuanza said at least one person had died before they could even begin clearing the park. The area has now been cordoned off with danger signs.
Sudan’s government says it is doing what it can to reduce the threat but says it is short on cash and personnel.
A government official told the AP it is trying to raise awareness in mosques and markets and through radio and podcasts, and it is producing educational materials with schools. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Yet many of the injured told the AP they had not seen or heard any warnings, which began in late 2024.
Some said they may fear reporting unexploded ordnance to authorities because they might be interrogated about why they had the weapons. A Human Rights Watch report earlier this year said security forces have reportedly detained civilians for collaborating with RSF, particularly in areas where the military has regained control.
Others do not recognize the danger until it is too late.
Moghadem Ibrahim once picked up a piece of metal thinking it was part of a car. But when it stuck to his hand and he tried to attack it, it burst.
The 18-year-old now keeps his bandaged left hand hidden under his clothes. The explosion outside his home in Omdurman in August took away his fingers and he can no longer work as a labourer.
He said, “I feel depressed and worthless. I was supporting my family and now I’m sitting here doing nothing.”
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