2023-07-28 02:19:41
JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN: As the Sudanese conflict enters its fifth month, a serious humanitarian crisis looms. Thousands of people, including many residents of the capital Khartoum, who risk dying of hunger and malnutrition.
The tragic death of renowned violinist Khaled Senhouri, who recently succumbed to starvation in Omdurman, has highlighted the plight of civilians for whom lack of food and water can be just as deadly as bullets.
With intermittent electricity, dwindling food supplies and limited access to essential resources, Sudanese in Khartoum and other violence-torn towns are locked in a desperate struggle for survival.
In a heartbreaking message posted online shortly before his death, Senhouri described the reality of life under siege. Unable to leave her home to get food because of the fighting, her despair is now shared by countless people.
“Getting even meager foodstuffs is a challenge, compounded by the constant threat of bullets and the shortage of money, electricity, water and gas,” he told Arab NewsYasir Hassan, a 45-year-old resident of Khartoum.
Since the outbreak of violence in Khartoum on 15 April between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), food imports and national agriculture have been severely disrupted, leaving food shelves empty supermarkets.
Most markets, shops and gas stations are closed, and even basic commodities like cooking gas are in short supply and sold at extortionate prices on the black market.
Faced with this shortage, the price of basic necessities has skyrocketed, with the price of lamb meat reaching the astronomical sum of 91 dollars per kilogram (1 US dollar = 0.91 euro). Poultry meat is almost non-existent, while fruit and vegetables are disappearing from the market.
Since April 15, clashes have disrupted supply chains and caused food shortages in Sudan (Photo, AP).
Tomatoes, cucumbers and other fresh ingredients now cost a fortune, leaving families with no choice but to endure hunger and malnutrition.
According to the United Nations, 25 million people, more than half of Sudan’s population, need food and 13.6 million children are in desperate need of humanitarian aid.
More than 19 million people, or 40% of the population, already suffer from hunger. The World Food Program (WFP) says it has provided emergency food aid to more than 1.4 million people as needs intensify.
Fighting in the capital – three cities built around the confluence of the White Nile and Blue Nile, Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri – has heavily affected areas with major state or military installations.
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