El Fasher, June 1)Darfur 24)
The head of the Youth Committee in Al-Koma locality, 76 kilometers northeast of El Fasher, Saleh Haririn, revealed that more than 30 families fled to Al-Koma following escalation of clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces( RSF)in El-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur state.
On May 27, the United Nations reported the displacement of 505,000 people from El Fasher, which is home to two million citizens and hundreds of thousands of displaced people.
Saleh Haririn told “Darfur 24” that the shelter centers have been crowded with displaced people from different areas of the Darfur region since the beginning of the war, and that they have registered more than 30 thousand people in 23 shelter centers who live in tragic humanitarian conditions, especially food, shelter, water services, and environmental sanitation.
Saleh mentioned that the initiative provided some aid within the limits of community capabilities in the region, calling on national and international organizations to intervene urgently to provide food, shelter, and means of transporting water.
Saleh pointed out the high prices of goods in the city of Al-Komah, despite their scarcity.
He added: “The price of a bag of sugar reached 120,000 pounds, a bag of millet 105,000 pounds, a bag of oil 47,000 pounds, a bag of flour weighing 25 kilos 45,000 pounds, and a bag of onions 90,000.”
A barrel of water costs 3 thousand pounds, a barrel of gasoline costs 850 thousand pounds, and a barrel of gasoline costs 750 thousand pounds.
He stressed that the rise in commodity prices made it difficult for the displaced to obtain sufficient food in light of the organizations stopping providing aid since April last year, which leads to more suffering, as he put it.
Community leaders in Al-Tawisha locality, 150 kilometers southeast of Al-Fasher, held a meeting that decided to receive the displaced from the city of Al-Fasher and reduce the burden on Dar Al-Salam locality after the overcrowding it witnessed during the previous two days and the severe water shortage.
The general coordinator of the Al-Tawisha Chamber, Muhannad Al-Tijani Ahmed, told “Darfur 24” that the locality received more than 950 people and they were hosted with families in homes while waiting for the Mother School Center to be prepared as a shelter center and to equip 10 other schools to mark the reception of the displaced.
He pointed out that the availability of security and water in the localities of Al-Tawisha and Al-Lait Jar Al-Nabi enables them to contribute to receiving the displaced, especially the presence of 5 water tanks that reduces the crisis in the Dar Al-Salam locality.
He mentioned the Chamber’s weak capabilities in providing food and shelter for the displaced, revealing at the same time that they had received funding worth 3 million Sudanese pounds from the El Fasher Emergency Room and the camps, and distributed a food basket consisting of flour, onions, rice, and lentils to a total of 170 families.
Muhannad explained that there is a severe crisis in food commodities and their high prices compared to the beginning of the year. He added: “The price of a bag of sugar has reached 120 thousand pounds, the price of a bag of 25 kilograms of flour is 40 thousand pounds, the price of a bag of millet is 150 thousand pounds, the price of a bag of corn is 110 thousand pounds, and the price of a bag of lentils weighing 60 thousand pounds.” One pound, the price of a barrel of water is 2 thousand pounds, the price of a barrel of gasoline is one million and 200 thousand pounds, and the price of a gallon of gasoline is 800 thousand pounds.
Muhannad appealed to national and international organizations to intervene to urgently provide food and medicine to the locality and to assist the emergency room and volunteers in performing their tasks towards the displaced people fleeing El Fasher.
The civil administration in the city of Tawila, which is under the control of the Sudan Liberation Army Movement, led by Abdel Wahid Muhammad Nour, announced the arrival of thousands displaced from the city of El Fasher to the areas of Jebel Marra.
The Civil Administration said in a small statement that thousands had fled to the areas of Rokro, Fanqa, Tawila, Darbat, Kadner and the rest of Jebel Marra, in tragic humanitarian conditions that require the intervention of national and international organizations to provide relief materials and provide shelter.
Since May 10, there have been continuous battles between the army and its allied movements and the Rapid Support Forces and the militias supporting them in El Fasher, leaving more than a thousand civilians dead and wounded.