The impact of what is happening in Sudan goes beyond borders. Thousands of people including Americans have been caught in the crossfire after the military took control over a 2021 coup.
ABC15 spoke with a Valley family worried about their loved ones who remain in Sudan.
For about 10 days, a Phoenix woman from Sudan has experienced terrifying sights and sounds in her native country.
Her family still waits for Hadeel Abdelmageed's mother to return home. They say she went to Sudan two days before the war reached the capital of Khartoum.
"This was supposed to be a pivotal week for Sudan. They were supposed to sign over the government back to the civilian people,” said Abdelmageed.
But, Abdelmageed says one leader backed out of the deal.
"It's shocking because nothing like this has ever happened in the capital of Khartoum,” said Abdelmageed.
She and her husband visited Sudan in 2017, and say they remember the northeast African country as safe and peaceful.
The broken glass, artillery shells, and burning homes from airstrikes shown in pictures and video sent by her mother keep Abdelmageed and her husband on edge.
"It's really sad to see that because we were just there a few years ago when all of that was intact. Now, you see everything is destroyed,” said Abdelmageed.
Making matters worse, she says, is knowing her aunt, grandmother, and mother left for Sudan a few weeks ago.
Abdelmageed’s mom and grandmother spent more than 48 hours last week, escaping to Egypt.
"They charted a bus with their friends and go out. They went, via bus, all the way out to Egypt,” said Abdelmageed.
The ride should have taken 12 hours.
As for Abdelmageed’s aunt, she's still in Sudan.
"It's very surreal. You wonder if this is really happening. You feel kind of helpless because there is no way obvious for us to help them,” said Abdelmageed.
Abdelmageed’s husband, Jeff Wood, reached out to ABC15.
"We were feeling pretty hopeless because we were told, basically, by the state department to just continue having the family shelter in place,” said Wood.
His concern is people in Sudan were running out of food, water was being contaminated and gunfire was happening around his family's house.
He's relieved knowing his in-laws appear safe. But, wants the United States to do more.
"There are still 16,000 U.S. citizens over there that we are hearing about and, obviously, the people of Sudan regardless of their citizenship who are still stuck in this,” added Wood.
