The narrator's scars that looked 'like quotation marks'
After the men's weary commander calls the narrator a Zaghawa like them, the narrator uses a simile in which he compares the scars, forming a part of his identity as a Zaghawa that were cut into his temples as a child, to quotation marks. This direct comparison enhances imagery through creation of an image of quotation marks in the reader's subconscious.
The rising and falling of the commander's trigger finger 'like a cobra'
This direct comparison of the rising and falling of the commander's trigger finger as he speaks over the phone to a cobra enhances imagery. In a way, the reader is able to percwive the delicate situation as at any time, the commander could press the trigger with the abruptness of a pouncing cobra. As the finger finally slithers away, the reader is able to sense the implied release in tension.
The burning village centuries-old trees 'like bonfires'
While the narrator is still in the air, he notes the lights below the plane as those of war. The devastating effects of the war in the region are clearly brought out as the villages attacked earlier on in the day are in flames. The burning of the trees in the village is directly compared to that of bonfires, a scenario that facilitates imagery of the extent of the destruction.
The appearance of the grieving women 'like the earth'
Even though the women usually dressed in bright colors or in white robes when in mourning, the narrator describes their appearance after they had poured sand on themselves as that of the earth. On top of enhancing imagery, the description also plays the role of portraying the grief of the women to the extent that they had no considerations for their appearance. Their pain and anguish are evident.
The gunmen standing 'like firing squad'
After the commander of the men who stop the narrator call him a spy with orders to kill him, Philip requests to call their top man--the top commander of the rebels. The narrator uses a simile to bring out how the men with their guns stood around them 'like firing squad.' In this way, the reader is able to develop an image of the scene.
