Hiding in his home with his family in Khartoum, Elsadig Elnour is debating whether to flee to a nearby village.
“I can’t decide whether to hibernate here, or to leave Khartoum,” the country director for Islamic Relief told i. “You may be shot.”
For the past six days, since the fighting began between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mr Elnour and his family have hardly strayed from their home, afraid to venture into the streets of Khartoum. His daughter and her infant child are among the family living in his house.
“The conflict is around [us],” he said. “I can hear shooting. The situation is unpredictable.”
Mr Elnour has heard that around 70 per cent of hospitals have shut due to shortages or bombings, and four doctors have died in the past week. He said that terrified patients are leaving wards, despite serious health conditions.
He despairs for his country. “This is a disastrous event,” he said. “It is the worst decision by these two warring parties. This is a time Sudan is experiencing economic recession, political instability, and hyperinflation. This is not the time to incite war.”
With banks closed, no one can access money to buy the food that is left in shops. Electricity was off for nearly five days. Airports have shut, dashing any hopes of escape.
“This [fighting] will cripple the country for years to come,” he concluded. “I’m scared for my family. I don’t know what will happen. Pray for us.”
Mr Elnour said the price of food is now six times what it was due to shortages. While his family is making do by quickly getting what they need from the shops with the money they have left, he said others are struggling much more.
London-based Husam El-Mugamar, of Sudan’s Doctors for Human Rights, has been speaking on WhatsApp daily with relatives hiding in their Khartoum homes.
During the first few days of fighting, his family used an app to buy food from grocery stores in place of cash. Now, the app isn’t working and anyway, it’s far too dangerous to leave the house.
“They are just eating whatever is left in the home,” he said. “They are using flour or grain to make something to eat. There is nothing fresh. They are just sustaining themselves.
“If someone leaves the house, they are risking their lives. People have been shot going to get food or water. It might not be a deliberate shot – maybe a stray bullet or shelling.”
He said that fans and air conditioning are not working as electricity only works occasionally – when his relatives rush to charge their phones. “The heat is excruciating but they can’t open the windows. The heat, the dehydration, and all the stress is mounting on them. It’s heart-breaking to talk to them.”
As the troops fighting also run out of food, Mr El-Mugamar is afraid they will start looting from people’s homes.
Huddled in a school in Khartoum with her eight-year-old son, Katharina von Schroeder said her initial calm is wearing thin.
“I am increasingly stressed because there are no solutions,” the 43-year-old Save the Children worker told i.
In the background, the children can be heard playing. “He does ask questions,” she said of her son. “He asks about his dog we left at home, which is tragic, but we would be putting our lives at risk to get the dog. I hope someone can get him.”
The group of six children and four adults are eating and drinking from the cafeteria, and are able to use electricity as the school has an independent power source.
“It is better than what I hear from others,” she said. “Many are running out of food, water and money. Water lines have been cut from fighting so there is no running water in large parts of the city. The health system has collapsed.”
Ms von Schroeder can hear the sounds of fighting even during the supposed ceasefires. “It’s really intense,” she said. “We hear bangs and noises from the air and ground. We have to go several times to the basement. We sleep there for safety. It is a scary situation.”
On Friday, Ms von Schroeder heard a story that shook her. “I got news that 160 baby orphans are stuck in an orphanage,” she said. “Nurses have left. There are no supplies.”
She begs that those involved in the fighting protect civilians and children and that a humanitarian corridor be opened to allow people out.
“We would evacuate if any opportunity,” she said. “If there is any calm, [Save the Children] would restart operations because people have huge needs.”
Mr El-Mugamar’s family has told him that people are trying to escape the city of over six million people.
“Some people have been shot and killed,” he said. “Some people were successful and left to go to nearby cities and towns. Some are moving within Khartoum to a place they think is less dangerous. But if this fighting continues, there will not be a place that is safe.”
He suspects that the UK won’t see refugees imminently fleeing the conflict as they can hardly make it out of Khartoum.
“The international community needs to recognise this could be huge trouble,” he said. “Things need to be done, and done now. It doesn’t mean that they should intervene, but what more can we do to stop the fighting and stop it quickly, because this will have a huge impact on the region and the world.”
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