With war erupting in Sudan, the country’s media landscape collapsed almost overnight after the Rapid Support Forces entered Khartoum. Many journalists were left without jobs, salaries or shelter, scattered between displacement, exile and siege, as newspapers shut down and media institutions ceased to function. For many, journalism was no longer a profession but a daily struggle for survival.

She was arrested, tortured, nearly raped, threatened with death, and subjected to degrading abuse. Her brother was brutally mistreated in an effort to locate her. In the end, her family had to pay a ransom to secure her release. She sought refuge abroad, but eventually returned to Sudan to continue documenting the war’s toll, particularly in El Fasher, a city now under siege. This is the harrowing account of a Sudanese journalist detained and tortured by the Rapid Support Forces.

Between the barricades of the conflicting parties, sometimes displaced, and sometimes hiding from bullets, journalist Iman Kamal El-Din lived the experience of armed conflict in Sudan and conveyed to Al-Sahafa magazine the concerns and challenges of field coverage in a time of deception and targeting of journalists.

How did the war in Sudan push dozens of journalists to change their professions in search of a decent life? In this article, colleague Muhammad Shaarawi recounts the journey of journalists who were forced by war conditions to work in agriculture, selling vegetables, and other professions.