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| Citizens dig small holes at the shore to get pure water at the banks of the White Nile as clashes between the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army continue, in Khartoum, Sudan, May 6, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer |
CAIRO, May 10 (Reuters) - Omar and his father have not left their home in Khartoum since fighting broke out on April 15. They have limited themselves to one meal a day, hoping their dwindling food supplies will last a month longer. While others have fled, they have stayed in Khartoum, near the airport, where intense fighting has occurred.
Omar's account captures the desperate situation facing the millions of people still believed to be in Khartoum more than three weeks since the eruption of deadly fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. They face dwindling food supplies, power cuts, water shortages and patchy telecoms.
The United Nations has warned of a major humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan, with as many as 2.5 million people expected to slip into hunger. Talks are underway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to secure a lasting ceasefire and humanitarian access. Still, the fighting has continued in Khartoum, where long queues can be seen at the limited number of bakeries that are still functioning.
Business owner Hashim, 35, hasn't been able to find rice or pasta for a week, and those without money have resorted to going into their neighbours' abandoned homes and taking whatever food they can find. With most hospitals shut, volunteer medics have fanned out into Khartoum's neighbourhoods to help those needing medical attention, while locals have taken to the streets to keep watch to prevent looting. Air strikes, artillery, and gunfire can be heard far from the front lines, inflicting a mental toll. Life had come to a complete standstill, said Ahmed Khalid, 22, a college student still in Khartoum.
