Adre, Chad – The plan was clear. Ousman*, his wife, and their six children would flee as soon as the paid smuggler showed up to drive them out of el-Geneina. The capital of Sudan’s West Darfur state was the scene of intense fighting since war had erupted in the country in mid-April.
The goal was to cross into neighbouring Chad, but the days went by and the smuggler was nowhere to be seen. With the sound of gunfire echoing all around them, Ousman and his wife decided to split the family in two – him in one place with four of their children and her in another with the other two. This, they thought, would increase the chances for at least some members of the family to survive. They would reunite only when it was time to leave the city.
