The Bahri Emergency Room revealed that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began the forced evacuation of residents of the northern and eastern areas of Bahri on Saturday as part of the escalation of combat operations in the area. The southern Khartoum area is in a state of cautious calm despite hunger and starvation.
The Emergency Room and Bahri neighbourhood committees confirmed that the RSF are forcibly evacuating the Signal Corps in Khartoum North (Khartoum Bahri) as part of an attack on Hattab and Kadro neighbourhoods. According to member of Bahri Emergency Room Akif Mukhtar, Samra, Nabta, and Dardug neighbourhoods have been witnessing forced evacuations since Saturday, as they are adjacent to Hattab and Kadro.
Hattab neighbourhood has been a site of fierce battles, including drone strikes, since army forces attacked RSF positions there late February.
Mukhtar pointed out that the North and East Bahri areas, especially Samra and Dardug, had been witnessing relative stability until military operations expanded. The neighbourhoods host a large number of displaced people. He said that another displacement would exacerbate difficulties in obtaining water, shelter, food, and funds.
“The situation is tragic,” said Mukhtar, calling for effective measures to protect citizens and keep military operations away from the population.
Expressing grave concern over the safety and security of civilians, the Bahri Emergency Room highlighted the increasing threats and violations faced by residents in a statement on Sunday.
Cautious calm
The South Belt Emergency Room said that the southern Khartoum region is in a state of cautious calm after military operations between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been decreased for three days.
During the decreased activity by the warring parties, several civilians have been injured and hospitalised by stray bullets, according to a press release obtained by Dabanga.
A significant shortage of medicine is available, especially for chronic diseases. Soaring prices are exacerbating the inaccessibility of medicine. A dialysis centre in the area charges a daily fee of 15,000 SDG, the press release said.
Citizens are subject to continuous searches and arrests when passing through military checkpoints. Despite the cautious calm, people are reportedly enduring the sound of bullets, artillery shells, warplanes, and surface-to-air missiles.
Staying connected has become increasingly expensive. The ongoing internet and communications blackout in most of Sudan has forced people to use costly Starlink satellite services, pushed people to travel to places with network connection, and prevented financial transfers.
The telecommunications network, especially Sudani and Zain, has returned to many areas of the country, but Khartoum state has remained among the states that have no service so far, and still suffers from complete isolation and disruption of all services.
Food shortages
The price of food and commodities has also surged. Dabanga was able to verify that two children starved to death in the Jebel Aulia area in southern Khartoum, whilst hundreds of kitchens have shut down.
The Khartoum State Emergency Room confirmed in a report that 221 of the 300 community kitchens in the state were suspended due to the continued interruption of communications networks.
Akef Mukhtar, a member of Bahri’s emergency room, told Radio Dabanga that 59 communal kitchens have stopped serving food to citizens due to communications and internet outages.
The Khartoum State Emergency Room said in a report that the number of arrivals to kitchens and hospice is increasing day by day and pointed to an unknown number of deaths due to hunger and malnutrition. Within Khartoum state, approximately 240,000 families are threatened with hunger, which requires an urgent response from all concerned parties, said the report.
United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that the vast majority of Sudanese face severe hunger, with more than five million people unable to have one adequate meal per day, amidst 10 months of war.
A group of more than 55 UN experts stated on February 5 that “about 17.7 million people across the country, representing 37 per cent of the population, face acute hunger.” It is reportedly the worst hunger level ever recorded during the harvest season, with the risk of famine very high. WFP said most of these people are trapped in areas of fighting where aid agencies are struggling to maintain continued access.
