CNN Chief International Investigative Correspondent Nima Elbagir reports a deeply personal dispatch from her home country Sudan.
Millions of people have fled the country as stories of brutal war crimes leak from the capital. Still, Elbagir was determined to shed light on these atrocities and uncover how the people of Sudan are coping. From a refugee camp near the southern border where nearly 2.8 million people have fled the war, she travels north into war-torn Sudan, making a trek that very few Western media organizations have been allowed to make. Her destination is the capital city of Khartoum, one of two major areas where the fighting is concentrated and where her family home is located. But the journey will not be easy – she must circumnavigate dangerous checkpoints to avoid confrontation with paramilitary groups who do not want her in Sudan.
"To report on my own country, to feel so many of the wounds of those we interviewed on such a visceral level, and to know that the outcome of the war and the consequences of our reporting would impact not only my life but the lives of the people I love, was only possible because so many Sudanese were so generous in allowing us in," said Elbagir. "Whether it's in Sudan or Ukraine or any other seemingly endless conflict, too many of us know what it feels like to wake up not knowing if there will even be a home for us to go back to, with the heartbreak of knowing home is no longer a haven. I hope the audience will walk away feeling like we gave them a glimpse into that reality."
Elbagir uncovers first-person accounts from survivors and eyewitnesses of horrific war crimes, including ethnic cleansing and sex slavery. She also uncovers critical information about ongoing foreign influences funding and supporting the war.
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