Food and water are running out in Sudan with civilians left starving in their own homes and soldiers breaking into houses to steal supplies.
The country is feared to be descending into civil war as the conflict between the Sudanese army and a powerful paramilitary group intensifies.
One humanitarian worker in Khartoum, who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons, said that food supplies are rapidly diminishing, with shops and markets closed in many areas and soldiers looting civilians’ supplies.
“People are suffering from power outages as some power stations and grids have been damaged by shelling. It is the same for water, and people are running out of stock, and in many areas shops and markets are closed,” they told i.
“In the last two days, we’ve been hearing of soldiers breaking into houses for food and water and stealing money and cell phones by force. Many people want to go out, but they don’t because the road conditions aren’t known.
“In the regions, we’ve heard about fighting between the two parties and a lot of looting of markets, shops, and INGO offices in South Darfur state. This is the situation so far, and we don’t know what will happen as fighting is still taking place at this hour.”
Violence has erupted in Sudan as the military and a paramilitary force battle for political control.
Growing tensions spilled into active conflict on the streets of the Sudanese capital of Khartoum 10 days ago, when clashes began between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the country’s armed forces.
In 2019, the RSF and the army worked together to overthrow autocrat Omar al-Bashir. Since then, Sudan has been transitioning towards democracy, but this process has seen power struggles and tensions.
After the toppling of al-Bashir, the country was led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok until a military coup in October 2021, in which he was placed under house arrest. Mr Hamdock signed a controversial deal with the coup leaders a month later which reinstated him as leader, triggering widespread pro-democracy protests in which the military fired live ammunition and tear gas at demonstrators.
The protests led to the resignation of Mr Hamdok in January 2022, deepening Sudan’s power struggle. Since the coup, the country has been run by the Sovereign Council.
The RSF is led by former militia leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti. He has been deputy leader of the ruling Sovereign Council, while commander in chief of the army, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, is the leader.
Both sides accused the other of attacking their forces first, initiating the escalation. More than 400 people have been killed and thousands more injured and the situation is feared to worsening hour by hour.
James Wani, Christian Aid’s country director in neighbouring South Sudan, where thousands have fled to in recent days, said that people are feared to be starving in their own homes, due to violence on the streets. Others have made the agonising decision to risk their lives and flee their homes, having run out of supplies.
“I can assume that after two weeks of conflict, what has basically happened is people have depleted whatever food supplies they had indoors and that has forced people to walk,” he said.
“We’re seeing in local media reports people, out of desperation, getting out of their home and getting caught up in crossfire because there’s active conflict happening on the streets. Most people are escaping the conflict and uncertain situation. It is extremely dangerous to leave homes.
“You either stay and die out of hunger or you risk getting caught in crossfire and hope you can find a safe passage, especially from Khartoum, and use whatever means you have to get to the border with South Sudan.”
UK embassy staff were evacuated from Sudan on Sunday, but Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, warned that help for thousands of other British nationals still trapped in the country will remain “severely limited” until a ceasefire is called.
More than 70 NHS doctors and their families are among the Britons remaining, according to the Sudanese Junior Doctors Association.
More than 400 people have been killed and thousands more injured in the conflict between the Sudanese army and a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
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