It may be impossible to find a single place that sums up(概括，总结) the devastation(破坏，毁灭) caused by Sudan’s civil war, now deep into its fourth year. But as we report after a rare trip to the country, its ruined capital comes close. Before the war erupted in April 2023, Khartoum was a bustling(繁华的，熙熙攘攘的) city of around 7m people. Today its centre is deserted(荒无人烟的，被遗弃的). Bare husks(外壳，空壳) remain of government buildings. Smart homes and luxury hotels are in ruins. The streets, charred(烧焦的) by fighting, are silent. So many bodies have been dumped that human skulls spill out of makeshift mass graves.(被丢弃的尸体如此之多，以至于人头骨从临时乱葬坑中滚落出来。) And still the killing continues.
或许很难找到一个地方能概括苏丹内战（现已进入第四个年头）所造成的破坏。但正如我们在一次难得的实地探访后所报道的，其满目疮痍的首都几乎可以代表一切。2023年4月战争爆发前，喀土穆是一座拥有约700万人口的繁华都市。如今，市中心已荒无人烟。政府大楼只剩下空荡荡的残骸。高档住宅和豪华酒店沦为废墟。街道被战火熏黑，一片死寂。被丢弃的尸体如此之多，以至于人头骨从临时乱葬坑中滚落出来。而杀戮仍在继续。
Khartoum is the scarred(留下伤痕的) heart of one of Africa’s worst conflicts this century. War has destroyed swathes(大片（土地）) of the continent’s third-largest country and driven 14m people from their homes. Hundreds of thousands have probably been killed by fighting, famine and bursts of genocidal(种族灭绝的) violence. The only recent African war whose horrors are comparable(可比较的，类似的) is the one in Congo, which may have killed more than 5m people in the early 2000s. Yet the war in Sudan is even more important geopolitically(在地缘政治上). As we warned two years ago, it has drawn in(卷入，吸引) neighbouring countries, helping reignite(重新点燃，再引发) civil wars in South Sudan and Yemen and threatening another round of killing in Ethiopia.
喀土穆是非洲本世纪最严重冲突之一的伤痕累累的心脏。战争摧毁了这个非洲第三大国的大片土地，使1400万人流离失所。数十万人可能已在战斗、饥荒和零星的种族灭绝暴力中丧生。近年来非洲唯一可与苏丹战争恐怖程度相提并论的，是刚果的战争，后者在21世纪初可能造成超过500万人死亡。然而，苏丹战争在地缘政治上更为重要。正如我们两年前所警告的，这场战争已把邻国卷入其中，助长了南苏丹和也门内战的重新爆发，并威胁到埃塞俄比亚再次发生杀戮。
Outsiders have shown callous(冷酷无情的) indifference(漠不关心) to the suffering, by paying to keep the fighting going(使战斗继续) or neglecting it. Yet by endangering(危及，危害) shipping in the Red Sea, the wars in Sudan and Iran are overlapping(重叠，交叉). That may raise the cost of prosecuting(进行，从事（战争）) the war to its sponsors, giving them a reason at last to seek to bring about(导致，带来) peace.
外部势力对这场苦难表现出冷酷的漠视，要么出钱维持战事，要么置之不理。然而，由于危及红海航运，苏丹战争与伊朗战争正在重叠。这可能会提高战争发起者的战争成本，最终给他们一个寻求和平的理由。
Seize the moment
抓住时机