They venture out for a few minutes to buy some of their needs, then return as quickly as possible, trying to avoid jumping in panic with the sound of each explosion... The people of Khartoum are trying to live under fire, without water or electricity, in light of the confrontations between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.

In the northern suburbs of Khartoum, as in other areas, no one closed an eyelid throughout the night from Tuesday to Wednesday because of the roar of planes, the sound of air strikes, the sounds of artillery, and the street battles with automatic rifles or heavy machine guns.

But this morning, in the last week of Ramadan, Farouk Ahmed was keen to open his bakery despite the very high temperatures, which were exacerbated by the power outage.

"We no longer have electricity and water is cut off, but we continue to work," Farouk Ahmed told AFP as he distributed the news to citizens hurrying to leave to avoid the dangers of being on the street.

Not far from the bakery, people were killed by stray bullets in the clashes that left 56 civilians dead and about 600 wounded, and which continued between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, which continued Sunday for the second day in Khartoum, amid a power struggle between the two generals who have been leading Sudan since the 2021 coup.

Not only bullets can be described as stray, but shells fell far from their potential targets in this heated battle between my allies yesterday, the army commander, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the leader of the Rapid Support Forces, Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, known as "Hamidti", before the conflict between them escalated into an armed displacement. Saturday.

"A shell landed ten meters away from my house," Saad Ahmed said, still under the shock of the horror he experienced on Saturday evening.

He adds that "shooting and explosions do not stop" around his house because the bases of the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which were formed during the war in the Darfur region, are located in the heart of residential neighborhoods.

On social media, hastily captured videos from apartment windows of armored personnel carriers, armed men, and street battles do not stop broadcasting.

As for Sana Ahmed (43 years old), she says she fears that the worst will happen Sunday in the capital, from which black columns of smoke rise.

Like everyone in North Khartoum, she has the impression that the situation has become more tense 24 hours after the first shot, for which both sides blame each other.

"Since yesterday we have been living in terror. My children are terrified by the sound of explosions, and the water and electricity cuts are making the situation worse," she told AFP.

Baker Farouk Hassan believes the worst is yet to come. As it is no longer possible to travel by car between Khartoum and its suburbs, the main bridges and axes are either closed by the army or cannot be used because they are the scene of battles.

On Saturday, trains coming from other provinces to Khartoum turned back before arriving in the capital, with reports of the outbreak of fighting.

Without transportation, food commodities will disappear in a country suffering from triple-digit inflation and poverty, which has reduced the ability of small traders to buy and store.

"My stock of flour will not suffice for more than 48 hours if food trucks cannot move," says Hassan.