KHARTOUM: It was a classic husband’s phone call. He was done for the day and would stop at the market before coming home. But he was returning from war, not work.
Fahmy Al-Fateh never made it home. His wife, Azaher Abdallah, started calling friends and family, then turned to his colleagues in Sudan ‘s army. Her husband was last seen leaving a military base in the capital, Khartoum, on a motorcycle. That was over a year ago.
Now the couple’s 3-year-old son shouts at every passing motorcycle, thinking it’s his father, Abdallah said.
“He was the most precious thing in my life,” she said, sobbing and burying her face in her hands. “I would feel more at peace if I knew something. It’s better than not knowing what happened to him, whether he’s alive or dead.”
Her husband is one of more than 8,000 people who have gone missing during Sudan’s three years of war, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The conflict has torn families apart. People have been separated while fleeing, or gone missing during fighting. Others are quietly detained, leaving friends and relatives in agony trying to learn their fate.
