Six months into a brutal conflict, there’s no end in sight. Two months ago, heavy clashes forced Sherif Abdelmoneim and his family to flee their home in Sudan’s capital. Now, they’ve been compelled to return due to soaring rent and food costs, despite the ongoing violence.
The majority of those who fled Khartoum when war erupted between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in mid-April remain displaced. Their lives are marked by malnutrition, floods, and scorpions, as they rely on meager aid relief and the strained generosity of host communities.
According to U.N. figures, more than 5.25 million of Sudan’s 49 million people have been displaced, with over 1 million seeking refuge in neighboring countries. However, more than 4.1 million have stayed in Sudan, facing mounting financial pressures.
Sherif Abdelmoneim, now in Omdurman near Khartoum, described the dilemma: “The states outside Khartoum are safe, but the prices are expensive, and rents are high. We cannot continue with that.”
This conflict has crippled Sudan’s stagnant economy, disrupting trade, transportation, farming, and salary payments. The nation must now rely on dwindling resources to support an internally displaced population that, when including those previously displaced, totals nearly 7.1 million – more than any other country.
Aid workers fear that those who once paid rent or found free lodging in the capital may end up in collective shelters as their funds run dry.
Omar Othman, a government official in Kassala, stated, “If the war continues, these people came with small savings, so they will need shelter.”
Communities in areas less affected by fighting are grappling with the ripple effects. In Rabak, south of Khartoum, young people who relied on factories or day labor now face a paralyzed labor market. Khartoum, often considered the engine of the country, is struggling.
The dire situation has led to displaced people in the city being lodged in inadequate shelters with crumbling walls and scorpions, while malnourished children are dying daily in city hospitals. Many have been forced to return to Khartoum.
In Merowe, north of Khartoum, salaried workers and farmers have lost their income, and local volunteers struggle to provide basic meals to displaced individuals, some of whom are sleeping on sofas or tables.
Ibrahim al-Badawi, Sudan’s former finance minister and an economics researcher, estimates that damage to infrastructure in the three worst-affected regions – Khartoum, Darfur, and Kordofan – could amount to $60 billion, or 10% of its total value. He predicts a 20% plunge in GDP this year, stating that Sudan needs emergency economic support of $5-10 billion if the war stops.
The conflict has led to soaring prices for many products, with the Sudanese pound plummeting on the black market. Remittances from Sudanese living abroad provide some relief, but the burden is unsustainable.
International aid efforts are falling short, with less than 25% of the required $2.6 billion received by mid-August, according to the United Nations. Relief operations face bureaucratic obstacles and logistical breakdowns in the capital.
Authorities are uneasy about local volunteer relief operations and prefer housing the displaced in camps, but funding is insufficient to meet the scale needed, says Will Carter of the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Across Sudan, some displaced people who were renting are being evicted, while most are still lodging with extended families or strangers. A dire impasse looms, with squatting individuals becoming destitute within these cities.
