‘They are struggling in every way’: The orphaned and disabled children forced to flee fighting in Sudan
The road to Kassala is infamously hard to traverse. It has seen little maintenance over the years and during these times of war, it is ungovernable.
Trenches cut across the tarmac from one stretch of mountainous desert to another. The hoods of SUVs disappear into them and send passengers flying out of their seats as the cars buck in and out of the ridges.
For the healthy traveller, the journey is a source of pain and discomfort. For those suffering from illness and living with disabilities, it can be lethal.
Sudan’s humanitarian crisis explained
This difficult trek was endured by hundreds of vulnerable disabled civilians and orphaned children searching for some semblance of safety in Sudan’s eastern state.
One infant orphan died on the road and another died soon after arrival, their small sick bodies battered by the 24-hour passage and the violent conditions of their departure point.
But many more died in the besieged cities they narrowly escaped.
The al Maygoma orphans have been forced to flee not once, but twice
When war broke out in Sudan’s capital Khartoum between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), residents thought it would only last a few days.
The city emptied as weeks turned into months and civilians started dying from lack of food and water, on top of the ferocious armed violence.
In Khartoum’s well-known al Maygoma orphanage, 69 children died from illness resulting from the war-time conditions.
Like nearly half a million others, the orphans were evacuated almost four hours away to Wad Madani in a joint effort by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), UNICEF and government authorities.
The country’s second-largest city became a growing humanitarian hub and treatment centre for the sick, elderly and disabled.
This classroom has been converted into a bedroom for babies and toddlers
But on 18 December, the RSF captured Wad Madani and testimonies of terror, looting and murder echoed out of the former safe haven.
The hundreds of orphans, alongside adults and children with disabilities, had no choice but to embark on the arduous journey to Kassala.
When we met them, there was a sense of unease. A severe lack of life-saving supplies and uncertainty over their long-term safety.
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The al Maygoma orphans are now settled in a primary school at the foot of Kassala’s bulbous Toteel mountain.
A lower ground classroom smells of old urine and sickness as underweight babies and toddlers roll around straw mats on the hard floor.
A round steel tray arrives with foil-covered plates and more than two dozen small children gather around.
No beds for children
“Five of them have died since evacuation. One died on the way and one on arrival. They were both in need of surgery and were declared dead in the hospital,” says Dr Abeer Abdullah Zakaria, a medical caretaker at the orphanage.
“Three more of them have died at the orphanage since. They suffered from cerebral palsy and contracted blood poisoning from their bed sores.”
Aside from a few flimsy donated mattresses, the young children have no beds to lie on.
This school in Kassala is now a shelter for displaced people with disabilities
Outside the classrooms, more children from the care homes of al Hasahisa, a town near Wad Madani, sleep under tents on the hard playground.
Their delayed and tumultuous evacuation was a source of great controversy.
Organised by committed local volunteers several days after the first group was extracted, it was held up at Kassala’s state border for another 24 hours.
Despite their living conditions, these children play loudly and joyfully – a sign of relief and gratitude for their safety after the effort to bring them here.
But across town in a shelter for displaced people with disabilities, there is a longing for home.
‘Struggling in every way’
The parents tell us that they designed their houses around their children’s needs. Now, they are huddled in classrooms with strangers.
“You cannot even imagine having a child with severe autism and living in a displacement shelter and lacking basic necessities. They can’t just eat anything or stay in any room. They are struggling in every way,” says Nemat Hassabu Ali.
She fled her house in Bahri, Khartoum, with her two sons. Both have been diagnosed with severe autism and the sound of airstrikes and shelling was overwhelming for them.
She was hesitant to evacuate immediately over concerns that few would accept and accommodate her children.
They ended up leaving after running out of food.
Corpses littered the ground around their home as they escaped, she says. Her youngest son, Motaz, still obsessively draws the corpses he saw that day.
In Wad Madani, where they sought safety for weeks before the RSF advance, and now here in Kassala, her children continue to suffer in a crowded shelter that is far from their purpose-built home.
“We just hope that the war ends and we can go back to our home,” says Nemat with teary eyes.
The White House is considering inviting Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska, according to reports in the US.
The reports come a day after Washington and Moscow confirmed the US and Russian presidents will meet on Friday to discuss bringing about an end to the war in Ukraine.
A senior US official and three people briefed on internal discussions have told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News that the Trump administration is now considering inviting the Ukrainian president to the summit.
“It’s being discussed,” one of the people briefed on the talks was quoted as saying.
The sources said a visit by Mr Zelenskyy has not been finalised – and it is unclear whether the Ukrainian leader will be in Alaska for the summit.
However, the senior administration official said it is “absolutely” possible.
“Everyone is very hopeful that would happen,” the official said.
Asked whether the US had officially invited Mr Zelenskyy to Alaska, a senior White House official said: “The President remains open to a trilateral summit with both leaders. Right now, the White House is focusing on planning the bilateral meeting requested by President Putin.”
Mr Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday before the Alaska summit was confirmed that “we’re getting very close to a deal” that would end the war.
The US president added there will be “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both sides”.
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US diplomacy ‘totally amateur’
Zelenskyy suggests he’s unwilling to give up territory
However, the Ukrainian president warned on Saturday that allowing Russia to keep territory it has occupied in Ukraine will result in another invasion.
He said allowing Mr Putin to annex Crimea in 2014 didn’t prevent Russia forces from occupying more parts of Ukraine during the current conflict.
Mr Zelenskyy added: “Now, Putin wants to be forgiven for seizing the south of our Kherson region, Zaporizhzhia, the entire territory of Luhansk and Donetsk regions, and Crimea. We will not allow this second attempt to partition Ukraine.
“Knowing Russia – where there is a second, there will be a third.”
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Zelenskyy: Ukraine will not give land to ‘occupier’
NATO allies say Ukraine must be involved in negotiations
The reports Mr Zelenksyy could be invited to Alaska come as Ukraine and several NATO allies have reportedly been privately concerned Mr Trump might agree to Mr Putin’s proposals for ending the war without taking their positions into account.
In a joint statement on Saturday night, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the leaders of France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the European Commission said Ukraine’s future cannot be decided without Kyiv.
They said: “Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny. Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities.
“The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.
“We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force.
“The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.”
Read analysis:
Lifting sanctions a ‘massive victory for Moscow’
Stakes high for Alaska summit as Zelenskyy faces nightmare deal
Why Trump will have a lot of ice to break at Alaska summit
From left: Volodymr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Pics: AP
UK hosts Ukrainian officials ahead of summit
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy had earlier hosted a meeting of top Ukrainian officials and European national security advisers alongside US vice-president JD Vance on Saturday ahead of the Trump-Putin meeting.
The meeting took place at the foreign secretary’s official country retreat, Chevening, in Kent, where Mr Vance is staying at the start of a UK holiday.
After the meeting, Mr Lammy said: “The UK’s support for Ukraine remains ironclad as we continue working towards a just and lasting peace.”
From left: Rustem Umerov, David Lammy, JD Vance and Andriy Yermak. Pic: X/David Lammy
It is understood that the meeting had been called at Washington’s request, and included representatives from the US, Ukraine, France, Germany, Italy, Finland and Poland as well as the UK.
Ukraine was represented by Rustem Umerov, secretary of the country’s national security and defence council, and the head of Mr Zelensky’s office, Andriy Yermak.
In a post on social media, Mr Yermak said the allies’ positions were “clear” that “a reliable, lasting peace is only possible with Ukraine at the negotiating table, with full respect for our sovereignty and without recognising the occupation”.
Ahead of the meeting at Chevening, Sir Keir discussed the talks in a call with Mr Zelenskyy on Saturday and also spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said Sir Keir and Mr Macron “discussed the latest developments in Ukraine, reiterating their unwavering support for President Zelenskyy and to securing a just and lasting peace for the Ukrainian people”.
The location of Alaska is unexpected.
Although close to Russia geographically – less than three miles away at the narrowest point – it’s a very long way from neutral ground.
The expectation was they would meet somewhere in the middle. Saudi Arabia perhaps, or the United Arab Emirates. But no, Vladimir Putin will be travelling to Donald Trump’s backyard.
Follow latest: Zelenskyy says Ukraine will not give up land
It’ll be the first time the Russian president has visited the US since September 2015, when he spoke at the UN General Assembly. Barack Obama was in the White House. How times have changed a decade on.
The US is not a member of the International Criminal Court, so there’s no threat of arrest for Vladimir Putin.
But to allow his visit to happen, the US Treasury Department will presumably have to lift sanctions on the Kremlin leader, as it did when his investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev flew to Washington in April.
And I think that points to one reason why Putin would agree to a summit in Alaska.
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Can Trump end the war in Ukraine?
Read more:
Analysis: Trump will have a lot of ice to break
Explainer: What would a Ukraine ceasefire involve?
Instead of imposing sanctions on Russia, as Trump had threatened in recent days, the US would be removing one. Even if only temporary, it would be hugely symbolic and a massive victory for Moscow.
The American leader might think he owns the optics – the peace-making president ordering a belligerent aggressor to travel to his home turf – but the visuals more than work for Putin too.
Shunned by the West since his invasion, this would signal an emphatic end to his international isolation.
Donald Trump has said a ceasefire deal is close. The details are still unclear but there are reports it could involve Ukraine surrendering territory, something Volodymyr Zelenskyy has always adamantly opposed.
Either way, Putin will have what he wants – the chance to carve up his neighbour without Kyiv being at the table.
And that’s another reason why Putin would agree to a summit, regardless of location. Because it represents a real possibility of achieving his goals.
It’s not just about territory for Russia. It also wants permanent neutrality for Ukraine and limits to its armed forces – part of a geopolitical strategy to prevent NATO expansion.
In recent months, despite building US pressure, Moscow has shown no intention of stopping the war until those demands are met.
It may be that Vladimir Putin thinks a summit with Donald Trump offers the best chance of securing them.
World
It’s been four years since a US president met Putin – and Trump will have a lot of ice to break
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet where their countries brush shoulders.
But why Alaska and why now?
A US-Russia summit in Alaska is geography as metaphor and message.
Alaska physically bridges both countries across the polar expanse.
Follow latest: Ukraine war live updates
Choosing this location signals strategic parity – the US and Russian leaders face to face in a place where their interests literally meet.
Alaska has surged in geopolitical importance due to its untapped fossil fuels.
Trump has aggressively pushed for more control in the Arctic, plans for Greenland and oil access.
Holding talks there centres the conversation where global energy and territorial stakes are high, and the US president thrives on spectacle.
Reuters file pic
A dramatic summit in the rugged frontier of Alaska plays into his flair for the theatrical.
It is brand Trump – a stage that frames him as bold, unorthodox and in command.
It was 2021 when a US president last came face-to-face with a Russian president.
The leaders of the two countries haven’t met since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Pic: AP
But Trump is in touch with all sides – Russia, Ukraine and European leaders – and says they all, including Putin, want “to see peace”.
He’s even talking up the potential shape of any deal and how it might involve the “swapping of territory”.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly insisted he will not concede territory annexed by Russia.
Moscow has sent the White House a list of demands in return for a ceasefire.
Read more:
Russia reacts to Trump talks plan
JD Vance raises concerns about free speech in UK
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‘I’m not against meeting Zelenskyy’
Trump is attempting to secure buy-in from Zelenskyy and other European leaders.
He styles himself as “peacemaker-in-chief” and claims credit for ending six wars since he returned to office 200 days ago.
There’s much ice to break if he’s to secure a coveted seventh one in Alaska.
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