Sudan’s academics and students have been forced to abandon universities and residential campuses because of heavy artillery and aerial bombardment in the capital, Khartoum, and other major cities, as clashes have erupted between warring military factions.

The violence, which began on 15 April, is between members of the country’s army, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and a rival paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Although a temporary ceasefire is in place, street battles and explosions are still being reported in Khartoum.

The conflict has killed more than 450 people and injured more than 4,000 others, according to the United Nations. Thousands more are on the move, looking to find a safe place. Most of the injured people are unable to access medical attention. Nearly two-thirds of hospitals in Khartoum are closed, says the World Health Organization.

“This was an unexpected conflict,” says Deen Sharp, an urban geographer at the London School of Economics and Political Science, who is based in Khartoum. Sharp is compiling a list of academics in Sudan who need money, food, water and medicines. “No one was really prepared.”

Sudan’s people have lived mostly under military rule since they gained independence from the United Kingdom and Egypt in 1956. Mass protests in 2019 overthrew a three-decade dictatorship, but the army remains the most powerful institution.

Nature spoke to three researchers in Sudan who are among the millions of people caught up in the turmoil.

HISHAM BILAL: ‘We didn’t have water’

Anthropologist at the University of Khartoum.

I woke up on the morning of 15 April to a phone call from my sister. I was planning to go to the university that day, but she told me she had heard the sound of clashes.

The University of Khartoum is close to both the SAF headquarters and the RSF headquarters. Almost 90 students and faculty members living on the university campus were stranded. They moved to the basement where they hid with some staff members for days. They were freed three days later, but one of the students died from gunfire and had to be buried on the grounds of the engineering campus.

I was living on another university campus with my wife and children, close to a military base. The electricity went off and we didn’t have water. Nobody was able to leave the campus to go anywhere to get any supplies, including food.

My apartment was hit by many bullets. I counted four and they entered from the balcony and the windows. At that point, we decided to leave no matter what might happen.

SHAHINAZ BEDRI: ‘Armed groups are entering health facilities’

Pathologist and director-general of the National Public Health Laboratory in Khartoum.

I left Khartoum yesterday with my mother, who has dementia and is bedridden and whose health has deteriorated. We headed to Port Sudan, 800 kilometres away from Khartoum by the Red Sea, because it’s safer and my mother can have access to health services.

I run the National Public Health Laboratory in Khartoum, which is the national reference regulatory laboratory for infectious diseases, with more than 500 staff members. On site, we have samples of COVID-19, influenza, measles, polio, tuberculosis and cholera, among others. We also have a biosecure unit. Specimens are in a secure place, but we’re worried that they might be mishandled by armed groups entering health facilities.

Several days ago, armed groups entered the lab, and ordered our security staff, who are trained to handle emergencies, to leave. We are worried that there might be a bio-risk for them if they open fridges, because they go in and they sabotage.

Power has been cut in several hospitals and in our lab. There are always electricity shortages in Sudan — that’s why we have power from diesel generators. But now, because of this war, we can’t refuel them.

By now, most of the unrefrigerated samples will have died. But we need to get people to come in and safely assess what’s happening, deal with issues, and do bio- and chemical waste management.

The other thing is that we have very sensitive analytical chemistry equipment, such as gas-chromatography apparatus. Some are attached to gas cylinders like helium and hydrogen, so we don’t want somebody going in and shooting. That’s a worry for us.

AZZA AHMED ABDEL AZIZ: ‘The military is overturning democracies’

Social and medical anthropologist at the Centre for Economic, Legal and Social Studies in Khartoum.

The situation at the University of Khartoum has left people traumatized, but this is a general trauma: the violence has left bodies strewn across different parts of the city.

Forced to stay at home, academics are turning to social media to write analyses of the situation. But there’s also a lot of propaganda — unidentifiable people who are just writing and spreading misinformation.

This is a challenge for academics working on the ground to counter. We have a problem here with the military overturning democracies in the post-colonial era. It’s always the Sudanese state not accepting alternative ideologies.

article_text: Sudan’s academics and students have been forced to abandon universities and residential campuses because of heavy artillery and aerial bombardment in the capital, Khartoum, and other major cities, as clashes have erupted between warring military factions. The violence, which began on 15 April, is between members of the country’s army, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and a rival paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Although a temporary ceasefire is in place, street battles and explosions are still being reported in Khartoum. The conflict has killed more than 450 people and injured more than 4,000 others, according to the United Nations. Thousands more are on the move, looking to find a safe place. Most of the injured people are unable to access medical attention. Nearly two-thirds of hospitals in Khartoum are closed, says the World Health Organization. “This was an unexpected conflict,” says Deen Sharp, an urban geographer at the London School of Economics and Political Science, who is based in Khartoum. Sharp is compiling a list of academics in Sudan who need money, food, water and medicines. “No one was really prepared.” Sudan’s people have lived mostly under military rule since they gained independence from the United Kingdom and Egypt in 1956. Mass protests in 2019 overthrew a three-decade dictatorship, but the army remains the most powerful institution. Nature spoke to three researchers in Sudan who are among the millions of people caught up in the turmoil. Anthropologist at the University of Khartoum. I woke up on the morning of 15 April to a phone call from my sister. I was planning to go to the university that day, but she told me she had heard the sound of clashes. The University of Khartoum is close to both the SAF headquarters and the RSF headquarters. Almost 90 students and faculty members living on the university campus were stranded. They moved to the basement where they hid with some staff members for days. They were freed three days later, but one of the students died from gunfire and had to be buried on the grounds of the engineering campus. I was living on another university campus with my wife and children, close to a military base. The electricity went off and we didn’t have water. Nobody was able to leave the campus to go anywhere to get any supplies, including food. My apartment was hit by many bullets. I counted four and they entered from the balcony and the windows. At that point, we decided to leave no matter what might happen. Pathologist and director-general of the National Public Health Laboratory in Khartoum. I left Khartoum yesterday with my mother, who has dementia and is bedridden and whose health has deteriorated. We headed to Port Sudan, 800 kilometres away from Khartoum by the Red Sea, because it’s safer and my mother can have access to health services. I run the National Public Health Laboratory in Khartoum, which is the national reference regulatory laboratory for infectious diseases, with more than 500 staff members. On site, we have samples of COVID-19, influenza, measles, polio, tuberculosis and cholera, among others. We also have a biosecure unit. Specimens are in a secure place, but we’re worried that they might be mishandled by armed groups entering health facilities. Several days ago, armed groups entered the lab, and ordered our security staff, who are trained to handle emergencies, to leave. We are worried that there might be a bio-risk for them if they open fridges, because they go in and they sabotage. Power has been cut in several hospitals and in our lab. There are always electricity shortages in Sudan — that’s why we have power from diesel generators. But now, because of this war, we can’t refuel them. By now, most of the unrefrigerated samples will have died. But we need to get people to come in and safely assess what’s happening, deal with issues, and do bio- and chemical waste management. The other thing is that we have very sensitive analytical chemistry equipment, such as gas-chromatography apparatus. Some are attached to gas cylinders like helium and hydrogen, so we don’t want somebody going in and shooting. That’s a worry for us. Social and medical anthropologist at the Centre for Economic, Legal and Social Studies in Khartoum. The situation at the University of Khartoum has left people traumatized, but this is a general trauma: the violence has left bodies strewn across different parts of the city. Forced to stay at home, academics are turning to social media to write analyses of the situation. But there’s also a lot of propaganda — unidentifiable people who are just writing and spreading misinformation. This is a challenge for academics working on the ground to counter. We have a problem here with the military overturning democracies in the post-colonial era. It’s always the Sudanese state not accepting alternative ideologies. vocabulary:

{'Artillery': '大炮，火炮：炮兵部队使用的火炮，可以发射炮弹、炮弹和火箭等炮弹','Aerial bombardment': '空袭：用飞机发射炮弹、炮弹和火箭等炮弹的行动','Paramilitary': '准军事组织：一种类似军队的组织，但不是正式的军队','Ceasefire': '停火：双方停止战斗的协议','Explosions': '爆炸：爆炸物爆炸时产生的热能、压力和声音','Overthrow': '推翻：推翻政府或统治者的行动','Dictatorship': '独裁：一种政体，由一个人或少数人统治','Mass protests': '大规模抗议：大量民众聚集在一起抗议政府的行动','Stranded': '滞留：因缺乏资源而无法离开的状态','Dementia': '痴呆：一种智力障碍，会导致记忆力减退、思维能力减弱和行为改变','Bedridden': '卧床不起：因病或伤病而不能起床的状态','Regulatory': '监管：政府或其他机构对行业或行为的管理','Infectious': '传染性的：能够传播给他人的','Biosecure': '生物安全：防止有害生物污染的措施','Specimens': '标本：用于研究的样本','Sabotage': '破坏：故意破坏或损坏设备或设施的行为','Analytical': '分析的：用于分析物质或物质组成的方法','Gas-chromatography': '气相色谱：一种分析技术，用于分离和测定混合物中的成分','Traumatized': '受创伤：受到心理或身体伤害的状态','Propaganda': '宣传：有意识地传播信息以影响公众观点的行为','Counter': '反击：采取行动抵抗或抵御对手的行动','Overturning': '推翻：推翻政府或统治者的行动'} readguide:

{'reading_guide': '本文讲述了苏丹军事冲突对学术界和学生的影响，以及三位苏丹研究人员的经历。文章提到，苏丹自1956年英国和埃及独立以来，大多数人一直生活在军事统治之下，2019年的大规模抗议推翻了三十年的独裁统治，但军队仍然是最强大的机构。文章还提到，由于冲突，许多人无法获得医疗服务，许多医院也关闭了，而且还有传播虚假信息的问题。最后，文章指出，苏丹国家一直不接受其他意识形态。'} long_sentences:

{'sentence 1': 'The violence, which began on 15 April, is between members of the country’s army, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and a rival paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). 这场暴力事件始于4月15日，双方分别是苏丹军队（SAF）和一个名为快速支援部队（RSF）的准军事组织。', 'sentence 2': 'Forced to stay at home, academics are turning to social media to write analyses of the situation. 但也有很多宣传，有不明身份的人在写作和传播虚假信息。学者们被迫待在家中，只能通过社交媒体来分析形势。'}