A program officer at Al-Mansoura Emergency Room in the Um-Baddah locality of Omdurman in Sudan, Yusuf Rambo, has disclosed that three people died of starvation in the area last week.

He told Radio Tamazuj at the weekend that the humanitarian situation in Um-Baddah is teetering on the edge of a catastrophe, describing the food situation as critical.

Rambo stated that since the third day of the war last year, the Um-Baddah locality has been under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), exacerbating the humanitarian crisis for the locals. He highlighted that 20 percent of the locality’s population has been displaced.

Since October last year, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) imposed a siege on the locality from the northern direction in the Karari locality which is under the army’s control. Additionally, the area has been besieged from the direction of Jabal Awlia.

“Um-Baddah comprises four sectors, three of which have been fully controlled by RSF since the third day of the war. These sectors include the Al-Ameer sector to the north, the Al-Salam sector to the southwest, and the Al-Buga’a sector to the southeast,” he said. “Following RSF’s takeover of the area, civilians have endured bombardments resulting in civilian casualties and deaths due to SAF aerial attacks.”

Rambo added: “Over 70 percent of the locality’s areas suffer from power outages and a lack of water supply.”

He highlighted that the price of a 25-liter jerrycan of water has reached 5,000 Sudanese Pounds, noting that 60 liters of water is not sufficient for a single person’s consumption. He further explained that electricity has been cut off in the Al-Salam sector since 25 April 2023, isolating the sector from the world, especially with the interruption of communication networks.

“Electricity sector employees extort money from citizens to repair faults and elements of the RSF in Al-Buga’a sector steal transformer oil, leading to the breakdown of 20 transformers in various neighborhoods,” Rambo stated.

He also said that SAF harasses traders and recently detained many of them. Those who have been released have been told not to return to the area.

Rambo recounted that people have reached the stage of eating pet cats in the Al-Mansoura area due to the unavailability of food supplies, noting that the army prevents food from entering the locality.

“Bringing goods from Jebel Awlia exposes traders to harassment at checkpoints where they are monitored and looted and this situation has led to a scarcity of food supplies and an increase in prices,” he lamented.