Services of mobile and internet communications providers Zain and Sudani were restored in El Geneinea, the capital of Sudan’s West Darfur State, on Friday after more than a week of interruption amid the ongoing conflict.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Friday after the restoration of the communications services, several callers from El Geneina confirmed that connectivity has returned.
Dr Baraka Al-Amin Baraka, a lecturer at El Geneina Technical Colleague, said Zain and Sudani had restored their mobile and internet services in the city, pointing out that they had suffered a lot during the interruption of the services.
“We were affected by the interruption of communications services during the fighting because all our lives are connected to the communications with people. I did not know what to do last week because I couldn’t communicate with my colleagues at the university and family members,” he explained.
“Now we can communicate easily after the return of the mobile network and thank God for the restoration of the communications services,” he added.
The university lecturer called on the concerned authorities to ensure that the mobile and internet services continue without interruption despite the ongoing instability in the state capital. “Communications are critical. We hope the services will not be cut again,” he said.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Saturday captured the Sudanese army headquarters in El Geneina following fighting.
People fleeing to Chad have reported a new surge in ethnically driven killings in West Darfur after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took over the main army base in El-Geneina.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in the Sudan conflict so far, according to a conservative estimate by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project.
But aid groups and medics have repeatedly warned the real toll exceeds recorded figures, with many of those wounded and killed never reaching hospitals or morgues.