Atbara

But after waiting for two months, she had no response from the Egyptian consulate about her visa request so she opted to try the smugglers again, heading to the northern city of Atbara in October.

The army circulated videos on Friday of Burhan visiting the Atbara artillery base, north of Khartoum in River Nile state.

But while it has been spared the heavy fighting that erupted in the capital two weeks ago, the power struggle between rival military factions there has dealt the latest blow to the hopes of Atbara's pro-democracy activists.

"We came to Atbara looking for safety after the war in Khartoum. We left our homes and lives there, and we don't know how we're going to continue," said 35-year-old Omeima Yasin, holding her child.

Atbara, which has a history of political opposition activity and a strong labour movement linked to its railways, was the site of the first big demonstrations against Bashir's autocratic rule that led to his overthrow in April 2019.