While the shelling between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has subdued after the army's recent takeover, civilians, especially children, continue to die in the capital, local aid volunteers told Ayin.
"The shelling may have stopped in our area, but the people are still hungry," says Mohiedeen*, a volunteer in a community kitchen organised by the youth-driven Emergency Response Rooms (ERR) in southern Khartoum. "Markets are still closed, and we are running out of supplies --the likelihood of deaths linked to hunger, not necessarily bullets, is very real."
Sudan is facing the most devastating famines in modern history.
Currently, around 24.6 million people, about half of Sudan's population, are acutely food insecure according to the IPC Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, with 638,000 experiencing catastrophic hunger levels, the highest globally.
Ayin's recent report confirmed that five areas in Sudan are facing famine, with an additional five regions in North Darfur at risk of soon following suit. One third of Sudanese children are malnourished. Restive areas, including the greater capital area, Khartoum, Omdurman and North Khartoum, are no exception.
Children on the brink
Ranaa* is a volunteer at the ERR community kitchen in Khartoum East in the Al-Jereif area. In March alone, Ranaa told Ayin, more than five children died due to malnutrition and the lack of sufficient food for their mothers.
"These children need the most basic nutritional components (to survive), and they respond quickly. If provided with nourishment like milk, their condition rapidly improves," she added. "Yet, we stand helpless before this tragedy that increases daily."
The escalating crisis in Khartoum and its surrounding areas requires immediate attention and action from both local and international communities to address the multifaceted challenges contributing to this humanitarian disaster, Rana said.
Khartoum Emergency Rooms declared a famine alarm on 7 March, reporting the loss of a child named Abdo, who died from hunger-related factors after he arrived at the Al-Jereif West Health Centre. The Health Centre lost four other children in the same week. "Help us, and please don't forget to pray for us," the Centre's statement said. "We are still working to keep our centre and community kitchens running to provide enough food so we don't lose more people, despite a scarcity of resources, successive arrests and increasing threats against volunteers in Al-Jereif West and other localities," the statement added.
Looting food supplies
Due to the increasing rates of hunger and poverty in Khartoum State, cases of theft from warehouses and communal kitchens have risen sharply. Khalid*, an ERR volunteer, told Ayin that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have repeatedly looted food warehouses belonging to organisations. Khalid also added that citizens may be driven to steal flour and food for their children due to desperation.
Especially concerning is the fact that Jebel Aulia is one of 17 localities at risk of famine, as indicated by the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) update. The loss of these supplies is catastrophic for over 100,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition.
UNICEF strongly condemned the theft of essential humanitarian supplies meant to save the lives of children and deliver crucial healthcare to mothers and newborns at Al Bashair Hospital in Jabal Awlia, Khartoum. The looting, which involved a minimum of 2,200 cartons of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), has jeopardised the lives of more than 2,000 children facing severe acute malnutrition (SAM), the UN Children's Agency reported.
"Stealing life-saving supplies meant for malnourished children is outrageous and a direct attack on their survival," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell in a statement.
This is not the first time. In December 2023, RSF fighters raided the WFP warehouse in Wad Medani, stealing more than 2,500 metric tonnes of life-saving food meant for nearly 1.5 million people. Earlier in May, the RSF looted the headquarters of the World Food Programme in Khartoum, stealing equipment and data and further disrupting relief coordination.
Bombs fall, hunger rises
The RSF are not the only ones denying exasperated civilians access to food. Flying above in warplanes, Sudan's army bombed the Al-Wihda Market in the Sharg Al-Neel area of North Khartoum, the only market that supplied thousands of besieged residents Local residents told Ayin that they have been in this area for nearly two years, which has resulted in the loss of hundreds of warehouses containing essential food supplies. The army bombed the area due to the RSF's presence in the area since the beginning of the war, but little consideration was given for the multitude of civilians who remained trapped in this area.
"We endured the RSF's violence inside the market because we were the only source of food for the entire area," said Mustafa Al-Zein, a merchant in Al-Wahda Market. "Food supplies were confiscated, and high fees were imposed. In addition to the RSF's control over the entire market, they could expel you from the shop where your supplies were stored," he added. "Due to the aerial bombardment, we lost everything. Now, the market is deserted, and famine has worsened."
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In some areas, In Omdurman, Qamar*, a volunteer in the community kitchens, told Ayin they endured shelling while attempting to feed civilians. "This week alone, in the Al-Thawra area in north Omdurman, we lost more than nine people due to shelling," Qamar said. Dozens were injured, Qamar said, further exacerbating the suffering of citizens who stand daily in lines for meals prepared by the ERRs, funded through social media requests.
While the army has regained control of the capital, the ERRs still fear insecurity and direct targeting. "We no longer know what we should do: stand and work to collect donations for food or for treatment, providing medicine and surgical supplies?" Qamar added.
For Mohiedeen, the threats have become too much, and he has decided to try and leave southern Khartoum. "The people need us, and I feel a calling to stay -- but I also cannot help anyone if I am arrested or even dead."
*Only the first names are mentioned for security purposes
