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September 04, 2025 – Sudan –
Sudanese freelance journalist Shamael Elnoor, known for her coverage of politics and Darfur, has returned to a drastically transformed Khartoum—only to discover that her home has been destroyed and once-bustling newsrooms have been emptied and looted. The collapse of Sudan’s media landscape reflects the deep scars the civil war has inflicted on independent journalism.
Before the outbreak of hostilities in 2023, Sudan’s press was already under pressure from dwindling revenue and a global shift to digital media. But the arrival of armed conflict—pitting the army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces—triggered an immediate cessation of newspaper printing. The result: dozens of outlets shuttered, including 27 newspapers, 32 radio stations, and eight television channels, leaving around 1,000 journalists unemployed. At least 31 journalists have been killed since the war began.
Elnoor, who initially fled to Sennar and later the UAE, returned following the army’s recapture of the capital. Her emotional account paints a grim image: printing presses gathering dust, scattered pre-war newspapers in abandoned warehouses, and a media ecosystem hanging by a thread. She lamented that, although Sudan is entering an “unprecedented era” for press freedom, the reality remains untested because newsrooms have largely ceased to function.
The civil war’s broader toll—from mass displacement and food shortages to economic collapse—has crippled not just media outlets but the very infrastructure that sustains the public’s right to know. Warring factions exert tight control over information flows, with journalists facing heightened scrutiny, permit restrictions, and violence.
For press freedom advocates, Elnoor’s return and her vivid observations underscore a bleak truth: in Sudan, journalism is no longer merely under threat—it has been largely dismantled. The question now is whether it can be rebuilt, piece by piece, from the ruins.
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