Khartoum partly a ghost town: MSF
March 11, 2024 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s capital, Khartoum is partly a ghost town with about 20 to 30 percent of the population remaining, a medical charity said.
Médecins Sans Frontières, in a statement, said the inhabitants of Khartoum fled en masse, but some returned to the capital city after paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of neighboring Al-Jazirah state in December last year.
As a result, in some areas you can see ordinary scenes of life, such as children playing outside and parents going to the market. But the atmosphere remains very tense and extremely anxiety-provoking, even post-apocalyptic, MSF noted.
Many buildings have been gutted and looted, the agency said, stressing that a large number of RSF fighters roam the streets and regularly forming checkpoints.
The international medical charity described Sudan’s capital as a city at war, adding that the RSF fighters attack government enclaves with artillery on a regular basis, while Sudan’s Armed Forces respond with aerial bombardments.
According to the agency, there is still an atmosphere of active war and a very strong fear of both parties to the conflict in the country among the population.
It said the situation remains extremely difficult and will continue to deteriorate.
There is a major economic crisis in Sudan, and not just since the start of the war.
“For the last five years, the economy has been shrinking and today it’s very hard to earn a living in Khartoum. It’s an economy that is heavily affected by looting, and eventually there will be nothing left to loot,” MSF said in a statement.
The overall indicators calculated by the United Nations are extremely worrying, adding that 3.9 million people face high levels of food insecurity in Khartoum.
MSF, however, said it has not been able to verify these figures through its work.
There is also the risk of an epidemic, which could lead to high mortality rates among a population that is particularly vulnerable in terms of nutrition.
Concerns have also been raised over the outbreak of Cholera and Measles in town in Eastern Sudan, although with limited outbreak of the latter in the region.
Khartoum has not seen outbreaks of dengue fever either, although there have been major outbreaks in other Sudanese cities, MSF said, adding there is no guarantee that Khartoum will remain unaffected by future epidemic outbreaks.
Meanwhile, there are a few hospitals financed and run by the RSF, which do a bit of medical work in the city, but are mainly for their fighters.
A highly specialized cardiac surgery program, set up by an international NGO, also continues to operate, but it does not meet the needs of a city at war. This leaves only four hospitals and a primary health care center supported by MSF.
According to the agency, even if Khartoum has achieved a degree of stability in terms of security, going to the hospital is still a major risk, people delay going to the hospital for as long as possible and think twice before crossing the city.
Since April 2023, clashes between SAF and the RSF have ravaged the capital and spread throughout the country. The brutal conflict has displaced millions, caused immense suffering, and pushed Sudan into a deep humanitarian crisis.
(ST)