Flood victims loot humanitarian aid in rain ravaged Blue Nile state

September 7, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Floods victims in Al Jazirah looted humanitarian assistance convoyed to the heavily affected areas in the central Sudan state, said Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) on Wednesday.

In a statement released after the looting, the group said that an MSF humanitarian convoy had been stopped by young men on the road between Manaqil town and Al Jamusi before being looted.

The residents of the area looted mosquito nets, blankets, plastic sheets, mats, kitchen pots, and buckets loaded in four of the seven trucks.

“Other bystanders and cars passing by then (…) started looting the items loaded on the pick-up trucks. The people who took the items expressed a dire need for humanitarian assistance,” said Atsuhiko Ochiai, head of mission for MSF in Sudan.

Around 20 000 families from 100 villages are affected by the heavy floods in Al Jazirah state.

The Blue Nile riparian rural areas are affected annually by floods. But the high volume of rainfall this year devastated the rural settlement of the Blue Nile.

About 112 people were killed as a result of the floods, according to the National Council for Civil Defence.

“The torrential rains and floods have killed 112 people and injured 115 others,” the council said in a statement last Sunday.

34,944 houses were destroyed and 49,096 others damaged across the country, the council said.

Further, 413 public utilities and 108 shops and stores were damaged.

(ST)