This is how the people of Sudan suffer – 10 harrowing photos and videos

War-like conditions have reigned in Sudan since Saturday. The army fights against the once allied paramilitary unit Rapid Support Forces (RSF). It’s about power.

The population suffers enormously from the fighting: no water, no electricity and hardly any food. Leaving your home is risking your life. The death toll is rising day by day. At least 413 people died in the fighting and about 3,500 were injured, some seriously, according to the World Health Organization. The children’s organization Unicef ​​announced that there are at least nine children among the dead.

These videos show the horror on the scene:

The escape

The current situation is hardly tenable for the local population. According to reports, thousands of people leave the capital Khartoum alone every day. It is impossible to say how many there are. Even people from the poorest parts of the city are moving away.

Many end up in Ghezira, the state south of Khartoum. It should be safer there. Most travel by bus, some take their own car and others walk.

No water, no electricity and hardly any food

Due to the destroyed water pipes, the water supply has been interrupted, there is no electricity in many places and the food supply is very scarce.

Many people risk a life-threatening trip out to get supplies. The UN describes the current situation as a “humanitarian catastrophe”.

Citizens suffer from lack of water:

collapse of the health system

Meanwhile, 39 hospitals have been closed after heavy bombing during ongoing fighting. Ambulances were also targeted, which meant that many patients could not be reached in time.

Doctors in Sudan warn that the country’s healthcare system is on the verge of collapse. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the attacks on healthcare are “a flagrant violation of international law and the right to health”.

Hospitals were destroyed and looted:

Students are included

A video posted to social media shows dozens of students trapped on the Khartoum University campus due to the fighting. They escaped with the help of the Sudanese army. Gunshots and explosions can be heard in the background as they escape:

Heavy air strikes and artillery shells

A reporter from the CCTV broadcaster reports on the heavy air strikes and artillery shells. He tells how bombs fall on civilian houses and explode.

Dead children: “They killed my friends!”

A boy from Khartoum explains in a video on social media how his friends were killed by bombs and he has no home:

No ways to enter Sudan

According to an industry media outlet, the Sudanese civil aviation authority announced over the weekend that the airspace over Sudan has been closed and air traffic control services are no longer operating in the Khartoum area. The United Nations has announced that there are currently no routes to or from Sudan.

A video shows people sheltering at Khartoum airport…

… although the airport has also been affected by the fighting.

According to non-governmental organizations, humanitarian supplies with urgent medical supplies are currently impossible. International mediators, including three East African presidents, are also currently banned from entering the country.

The federal government cannot retrieve Schweizer

The situation is not getting any better for the staff of the Swiss embassy in Sudan and the other hundred Swiss – they have to hold out in Sudan. The situation does not allow an organized departuresaid Serge Bavaud, chief of crisis management of the foreign department, Friday.

(ooh, with material from sda)