People in Sudan’s North Darfur state are facing severe shortages of food and medical supplies, following heavy fighting that erupted in May between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.
Currently, some 800,000 people are trapped in El Fasher. Humanitarian aid is unable to enter the city, leading to extreme shortages of food, medicine and other supplies.
Amna Alhadi, a resident of El Fasher, said: “We have nothing to eat or drink. We have no belongings and many people are sick. We can’t do anything and we live in misery.”
The conflict in Darfur has displaced more than 4 million people in the past year. Many of these displaced people reside in refugee camps, where conditions are extremely difficult. They are overcrowded and have limited facilities, they face problems such as the accumulation of garbage, mosquitoes and shortages of food and drinking water.
Yousri Ismail, a refugee, said: “Some people have food to spare, they go to their neighbours’ houses to share food with them, and others are starving because they have no food.”
The health care system in El Fasher is on the verge of collapse, as most medical facilities have ceased to function. Outbreaks of infectious diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea have begun to spread in some of the refugee camps.
Afaf Issa, a local aid worker, said: “We call on both sides of the conflict to stop the war and open humanitarian corridors so that aid can enter the camps for displaced people to save the Sudanese people.”
