The government of Sudan’s South Darfur State has set up a committee to identify and register the civil servants who have been forced by the conflict to flee the city of Nyala to neighboring localities and states.

Haroun Edam, Executive Director of Nyala Municipality, told Radio Tamazuj on Thursday that the purpose of identifying and registering the civil servants is to prepare for payment of April salary.

The municipal official said they have made some progress in identifying employees who fled to East Darfur State on orders of the secretary-general of the state government, who is in the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State.

"The administrative and financial aspect related to the disbursement of the April salary has been arranged by the state government, and next week, the April salary will be disbursed to all employees in the state," he said.

For his part, Hudhayfa Muhammad, an employee of South Darfur Television Channel, said: "Our bad living conditions for six months after the stoppage of salaries have forced me to sell plastic bags in the local markets, and sometimes I work as a construction worker."

"I am an employee at Grade 9. As government employees, we have suffered during this war because there is no monthly salary. I depended entirely on the monthly salary, although it was not enough for my family. We hope there will be peace in the country so that we rebuild our lives," he added.   

Maryam Ahmed, an employee at the State Ministry of Agriculture, said that she and her sister have not been paid their salaries for six months, and this situation has made them live in harsh conditions.

"We have come to register our names with the committee identifying the civil servants, and they say the salary will be paid. As employees from South Darfur State, we have suffered a lot since the war broke out. We don't know what is happening, and we hope the authorities will look into our situation," she said.

The Ministry of Finance in South Darfur State was destroyed and looted during fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in mid-April.

After nearly six months of fighting, more than 5.6 million people have been displaced within and outside the country, according to the United Nations.

On Wednesday, the United States expressed its concern by reports that the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have intensified shelling in Nyala town of South Darfur State.