In a bustling market in central Sudan, vegetable seller Ahmed al-Obeid dusts off his wooden stall, carefully arranging fresh cucumbers and tomatoes in neat piles as customers cautiously return.
Just weeks ago, this market in the central Sudanese city of Wad Madani lay mostly deserted.
Traders had shuttered their shops, gripped by fear of the paramilitaries who controlled the city.
Now, voices ring out again, bargaining over fresh produce as the city tentatively stirs back to life after the army reclaimed it from its rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) last month. "We are feeling safe again," said Obeid. "People are buying and selling like old times," he told AFP, adjusting a pile of onions.
