As Eid al-Fitr approaches, people in Sudan are facing an increasingly desperate situation as violence rages, hospitals are overwhelmed and families struggle to get food.
More than 300 people have now been killed and more than 3,000 injured in fighting over the past five days. Fighting has continued despite calls for a ceasefire, with complete disregard for the lives and safety of civilians or humanitarian workers. In the capital, Khartoum, people are scrambling to leave the city and there are fears that many people will be uprooted in the Darfur region.
Elsadig Elnour, Islamic Relief’s Country Director in Sudan, says:
“This is a sad Eid for people in Sudan and there is nothing to celebrate right now. Many people have lost loved ones to the violence, they’re running out of money, shops are shut and food is scarce. Many of the poorest families face an Eid with barely anything to eat.
“Families can’t move around without risking their lives and are trapped at home. My own family spent most of the past 24 hours hibernating as there was intensive fighting close by. Those who can flee are scrambling to leave Khartoum and get to safer rural villages. At the moment there is no sign of when it will end, but we pray there will be a real ceasefire for Eid.
“Hospitals need urgent support. Most hospitals in Khartoum are no longer functioning and several hospitals have been bombed and shot at. Others have run out of fuel and cannot function. Those still open are crowded with injured people and running out of medicine and supplies. They don’t even have enough bandages.
“Lots of injured people can’t even reach hospital as the streets are too dangerous as the fighting spreads into more residential areas. We urgently need the parties to the conflict to agree safe routes to evacuate injured people and enable aid agencies to support people.”
Islamic Relief’s work in Khartoum, Darfur and Kordofan is currently suspended due to the extreme security situation, with many aid offices attacked and looted and at least four humanitarian workers killed so far. However, our team in Sudan are exploring ways to support hospitals and provide essential aid such as food as soon as it is possible.
As Eid approaches, Islamic Relief is calling on both sides to ensure civilians and aid workers are protected from violence, and that humanitarian agencies can safely access people in need.