AYA IBRAHIM

Sudan –Due to violent clashes erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan on April 15, 2023, people suffer from displacement, unemployment, poverty, violence, economic crisis and many other difficult living conditions. Women and children are extremely vulnerable to this war in the country

No access to food and healthcare services

K.H. is a woman living in the East Nile locality of Khartoum, capital of Sudan, with her two sons. “We suffer from the lack of essential services such as medical, water and power services due to the ongoing clashes between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces,” she told us, noting that her sons and she depend on “Takarya”, (soup kitchens). “Some benevolent people provide food to us; however, it is insufficient. Therefore, we have to go to the soup kitchens. My children often get sick because they are malnourished. We have no access to food and healthcare services.”

Due to the lack of resources and financial support, all the kitchens in the region stopped providing meals to those affected by the war, K.H. told us. “This situation will further increase the suffering of thousands of Sudanese families in the region. Other voluntary kitchens also announced that they would stop providing meals due to the lack of resources and financial support.”

‘We hope that war will end and peace will prevail’

The city of Omdurman is one of the safe areas in Khartoum State, hosting thousands of displaced people. Journalist Mai Ezz El-Din and her family have not left their home in Omdurman since the beginning of the war although a number of their relatives and neighbors were killed in clashes. “We hope that the war will end and peace will prevail,” she said.

‘Nowhere is safe’

“Nowhere is safe,” said Amira Al-Nour Al-Amin, who lives in the Al-Manara neighborhood of Omdurman. “Every day, we live in fear due to random bombardments.”

Badriya Abdullah and her family have not left their home in Omdurman since the beginning of the war. “The first days of the war were difficult for us due to the heavy bombardments and clashes.”