How did the smell become a “thin line” between life and death among Sudanese?

The earth-shattering surprise was that the smells that filled the noses of the citizens of the residential neighborhood emanated from the body of one of the women living in the neighborhood.

For several days, the citizens of the Tenth Hot Revolution were unable to find the reasons for the emission of unpleasant odors, and in vain they roamed the streets and alleys of the neighborhood, and they also searched their homes and belongings, but they did not discover the source of the odors.

Citizens of the ancient neighborhood of Umm Darmani, their suspicions were gone that there were dead rats behind the closed doors of their neighbors for months after their owners had abandoned them to areas far from the raging battles and mutual bombardment. They had no idea that behind these foul odors concealed a horrific humanitarian catastrophe.

The earth-shattering surprise was that the smells that filled the noses of the citizens of the residential neighborhood were emitted by the body of one of the women living in the neighborhood.

In turn, a citizen of the Tenth Hot Revolution told Al Arabiya saying that the afflicted woman lived in the house alone long before the outbreak of war, and her disappearance from sight did not attract the attention of the few remaining residents of the aforementioned neighborhood. The biggest calamity came when some neighbors entered her house after opening the locks to check on her, but they were surprised by her lifeless body, and the initial inspection showed that several days had passed since her death. Feelings of shock and astonishment bridled the tongues of those present, especially since the corpse was emitting unbearable odors after it had swollen due to the high temperatures. Nearby residents had no choice but to call a policeman to complete the legal procedures. The body was later removed and buried with the mattress on which it was found lying in the middle of last week.

A second citizen also told Al Arabiya a similar story about a citizen who was found dead in the same way. The terrifying events began when his family lost contact with him, and they immediately wrote a post with his picture and description, asking for their help in finding him. Days later, his family received conflicting news that he had been found in Umm Rawaba Hospital in North Kordofan State. Last Wednesday night, his neighbors in the Al-Thawra Al-Hara Al-Thameen neighborhood conveyed to them the sad news that the man had managed to return to Omdurman and had died three days earlier. Neighbors smelled foul odors and notified the police, who entered the scene to find the man dead.

In the same context, one of the citizens told Al Arabiya, with poignant words that made the stone cry, that neighbors no longer know that some of them are alive or dead except by smell. He added that the absence of foul odors alone tells you that your neighbors are fine or that something bad has happened to them. The violence of artillery, missile and air bombardment and the intensity of battles may make you forget to check on your closest family, not to mention those who live next to you. Therefore, the emission of odors or their absence becomes something like the dividing line and the thin line between death and life in those areas.

These sad stories are one of dozens of tragic stories and tales of victims in Khartoum’s residential neighborhoods, who faced the misfortune of death from hunger, thirst, terror, or bombing alone since the outbreak of war between the army and the Rapid Support in mid-April.

Since then, there has been no smell above the smell of rotting and decomposing corpses of human victims or dead animals and birds. In view of this, medical sources in Sudan sounded the alarm, and sources warned of the dangers of corpses spreading in the streets and homes, and expected high rates of the spread of epidemics and highly contagious and dangerous deadly diseases such as plague and cholera in the country.

The Lebanese army intercepts the boat
Lebanon

Rescue of a boat carrying 124 Syrians that sank off northern Lebanon

The army's naval forces were able to rescue 125 people who were on board an illegal immigration boat

The Lebanese National News Agency reported that the Army's naval forces were able to rescue 125 people who were on board an illegal immigration boat off the shores of the port city (adjacent to Tripoli) near the Palm Islands, in northern Lebanon.

The agency said that the boat set off from Abda Beach and its engine broke down, prompting the passengers to call for help from the Army Navy, whose members immediately went and rescued them all, noting that they were of Syrian nationality in addition to one Lebanese.

The boat and passengers were towed to the port of Tripoli, where they were given first aid, according to the agency.

The agency said that the caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transport directed the port director “to provide all assistance to passengers and facilities to the naval forces in the army.”

For its part, the Lebanese Army issued a statement saying: “On October 6, 2023, a patrol from the Army’s naval forces thwarted an operation to smuggle people illegally across the sea off the coast of Tripoli, and was able to rescue 124 illegal immigrants of Syrian nationality (including 8 Women and 24 children) were on board one of the boats in the aforementioned area.”

The Army Command renewed its “warning against the consequences of illegal immigration, as it exposes the lives of immigrants to imminent danger, in addition to legal prosecution before the competent authorities, and confirms that its military units continue to take the necessary measures to combat it.”