OMDURMAN, Sudan — A drive from the sandy northern outskirts through Sudan’s once-vibrant city of Omdurman passes by shoots of normal life reemerging from the worst moments of war.

OMDURMAN, Sudan — A year and a half of war in Sudan has led to a humanitarian catastrophe in one of Africa’s largest countries. Up to 150,000 people have been killed, according to some estimates.

The Sudanese city of Omdurman lives in the shadow of war, facing daily shelling and battered medical services. But some people are trying to eke out a return to life, however precarious.

Souq Omdurman, a sprawling market, is broken down and deserted in Omdurman, Sudan. The more than a century-old Sheikh GaribAllah Mosque sits defaced, its sky-gray walls pockmarked with bullet holes.