from RAJI BASHIR in Khartoum, Sudan
Sudan Bureau
KHARTOUM, (CAJ News) – CIVILIANS in El Fasher in Sudan have been forced to eat animal fodder to survive.
Supplies of fodder are running out, it has emerged, as demand grows amid food shortages.
Lacking safe shelter, some civilians have resorted to digging holes in the ground to protect themselves from shelling.
These are some of the scenes revealed by international non-governmental organisations (NGOS) working locally.
They have condemned the renewed and devastating attacks on El Fasher.
Local responders report at least 40 civilians killed as two displacement camps were attacked.
Indiscriminate shelling has caused widespread destruction of homes, markets and hospitals.
In a joint statement, the NGOs lamented that the people of El Fasher had remained trapped in a siege for over 14 months when the civil war in Sudan broke out.
“The city is being strangled, not only by the relentless aerial and artillery bombardments but also the calculated use of starvation as a weapon of war.”
They report how aid has been systematically blocked from entering for months, while traders face attacks and farmers are prevented from planting.
There are anecdotal reports of recent food hoarding for military use, adding to the suffering of civilians.
“With markets depleted, high taxes on the movement of goods, and prices spiralling, civilians have been forced to eat animal fodder to survive, supplies of which are running out,” NGOs stated.
NGOs urge the international community, including the United Nations Security Council, regional bodies and donor states to protect civilians in El Fasher and across Sudan.
The war that erupted in 2023 has triggered one of the most severe humanitarian crises globally.
– CAJ News