Under Fire: How Survival and Efforts in War-torn Sudan Became a Daily Test of the Resilience of Millions

Editing – Mohamed Osman Adam

A Sudanese national has written a detailed, humane article about the struggles of displaced and besieged residents of El Fasher and other cities, and the efforts they make to survive as they face intensifying sieges, bombardments, and restrictions.

This struggle is not only to survive but also to meet their most basic daily needs. The writer, JawharatalKamali Kano, paints a background that helps us understand the daily challenges facing the population.

Decades of economic mismanagement, armed conflicts, and more than 25 years of sanctions have led to ever-increasing prices, crumbling infrastructure, and a demise of opportunities. As a result, the standard of living of the average citizen has been steadily declining.
The article, published on the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy website, indicates that the ongoing war has exacerbated the suffering of the masses, causing mass displacement, shrinking the workforce, and damaging vital industrial and agricultural infrastructure. Public spending has shifted to prioritizing current military expenditures over social services such as healthcare and education.

The war has also created a vast war economy: essential goods such as fuel are smuggled into the country, and convoys are forced to pay safe passage fees or enlist the help of armed groups for protection.

Meanwhile, agricultural produce is often looted in farming communities, cash is scarce, and local markets are caught in the crossfire or deliberately attacked.

The article points to policies that have compounded the suffering, such as the Rapid Support Forces militia’s restriction of exports of 12 commodities passing through areas under Sudanese Armed Forces control to Egypt, causing prices to plummet and leaving producers unable to cover production costs. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Sudan has changed Sudanese banknotes and banned the use of the new banknotes notes in areas under RSF control, leading to the economic isolation of large segments of the population.

These factors, among many others, have made earning a living in Sudan extremely difficult and often dangerous over the past two years. Despite these immense challenges, millions of people continue to demonstrate unparalleled resilience and determination to survive and support their families and communities.

TV sets and Fuel
The article featured the story of Adam Musa (she said names have been changed for protection reasons), 22, who before the war worked as a trader, specializing in selling small appliances and TVs from a small shop in the central market of his hometown in North Darfur. His suppliers were smugglers who roamed the desert bringing in goods from the Libyan border. But after the war began, an influx of looted goods from the capital, Khartoum- by members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)-led to a slump in Adam’s business, and it wasn’t long before he sought to trade in a more sought-after commodity: fuel.

With the outbreak of the war, the five diesel-powered power plants, which provided an average of six hours of electricity per day in the Darfur region, gradually ceased operation. This increased demand for diesel fuel to power private generators that provide electricity for households and public services such as hospitals, as well as satellite internet services.

The ongoing war is exacerbating the demand for fuel, as the warring forces consume vast quantities of it. Along the way, Adam pays armed men dressed in all khaki colors. Depending on the route he takes, he may encounter the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), other forces, or local militias.

Adam now uses his truck to cross the desert to the nearest towns across the Libyan border to collect fuel supplied by armed groups on the Libyan side. During these trips, he sometimes drives north toward the Sudanese Armed Forces-controlled al-Dabbah trading center to exchange fuel for other essential goods, or east toward RSF-controlled areas in North Kordofan. Along the way, Adam pays armed men, and depending on the route he takes, he may encounter these forces or local militias who demand taxes at checkpoints or, in some cases, confiscate fuel. When necessary, he also pays armed escorts to help him navigate the desert. What remains after these payments is what he takes home.

Breaking the Siege
The article notes that since April–May 2024, the RSF has besieged El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, obstructing trade and humanitarian access to the city. This has led to severe shortages of food and basic supplies, and many are facing the threat of starvation: more than 60 people are reported to have died of starvation in El Fasher in just one week. With men often fighting, disappearing, or at risk of arrest, women like Kaltoum Ishag have taken on roles previously considered too dangerous to survive.
Kaltoum is no stranger to trade. She grew up in a semi-nomadic pastoralist community in a village south of El Fasher. Her family regularly participated in local weekly markets, where they sold dairy products and bought household necessities.

In 2004, following waves of attacks on villages across Darfur, Kaltoum moved to the Zamzam camp in El Fasher, where she still lives with her elderly mother and six young children. Due to the severe deterioration in living conditions and the urgent need to provide for their families’ growing needs, amid the threat of famine, Kaltoum, along with other women, has taken to making secret trips on donkeys in and out of the besieged city to neighboring villages to buy food.

They risk their lives on deserted roads, relying on their expertise in raising livestock. Kaltoum usually prepares the ingredients for lentil ‘’balila’’, made from boiled red beans. It is relatively inexpensive, filling, and requires no preparation. It’s enough to buy goods, making it ideal in times of extreme scarcity.
To buy goods, Kaltoum needs cash, which has become difficult to obtain over the past two years. For many, mobile money transfers are the main means of receiving financial support from relatives inside and outside Sudan.

In El Fasher, people are replacing mobile money transfers with cash at exorbitant rates, often losing up to 50% in the process. But Kaltoum has no choice: suppliers only accept cash, and without it, she can’t trade.

“If I don’t go out, my children will starve.”

Besides the risk of being caught or having her goods looted, Kaltoum also fears getting lost, as she and others are forced to take remote, seldom-used routes. “I can’t sleep the night before I travel,” Kaltoum says. “But if I don’t go, my children won’t eat.” What she smuggles on her donkey not only feeds her family but has become a lifeline for her neighbors as well. She realizes that every trip she makes could be her last. Yet she continues on her journey.
The author says that since speaking with Kaltoum, the situation in El Fasher has deteriorated significantly. Reports indicate that the main source of food for many families has become what is locally known as “ambaz,” made from peanut shells and typically used as animal feed.

From Cattle to Starlink

Ahmed Eltoum, a trader in his forties, was forced to seek alternative means of livelihood after his trade in livestock, agricultural products, and cross-border trade with South Sudan was disrupted. Over the past two years, challenges such as trade embargoes, attacks on markets, and Central Bank restrictions have severely hampered these activities.

Furthermore, the numerous checkpoints along trade routes, often manned by local militias demanding payment for passage, have rendered his business unviable. Ahmed saw an opportunity to provide internet access to the residents of his hometown of El Daein, the capital of East Darfur state, which had been under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since November 2023. Like many areas across Sudan, the town was cut off from the national telecommunications network, forcing residents to rely on Starlink for communications and mobile money transactions. This prompted Ahmed to borrow money from his brother living in the UK and invest in a Starlink satellite internet device. These devices are typically smuggled into Sudan via Libya, Chad, or South Sudan. Ahmed purchased his device in Dubai via Juba, South Sudan, where it costs $295 per month for a standard subscription, plus a one-time device cost of $2,500. In El Daein, Starlink device owners pay the RSF monthly activation fees, which in some areas of the state have reached 50,000 Sudanese pounds (approximately $20). Ahmed earns 1,000 Sudanese pounds (0.004 US cents) per gigabyte on a good day’s work. When he’s lucky enough to have a good number of users for a long period, he can cover his daily needs and perhaps save a dollar or two in the hope of repaying his brother one day

Musab Anwar, 32, returned to Port Sudan after leaving the country in the early months of the war, hoping to leverage his knowledge of solar energy to start a business. Although Sudan already suffered from chronic electricity problems before the war, the conflict has exacerbated the situation, with ongoing drone attacks targeting and destroying the country’s energy infrastructure, including power systems that feed water stations, residential areas, and various vital sectors. As a result, demand for alternative energy systems—including solar panels, batteries, and inverters—has soared, along with their prices.

Musab explains that many new suppliers have entered the market, flooding it with poor-quality equipment that breaks down, causing huge losses for consumers. In November 2024, the government announced a customs duty exemption on solar energy equipment used in agriculture, but the decision has not yet been implemented. This, coupled with the return of displaced people to Khartoum after its recapture by the Sudanese Armed Forces, bodes well for further market growth, according to Musab.

Beyond Resilience
Despite the immense challenges posed by living in a war zone, the stories of Adam, Kaltoum, Ahmed, and Musab demonstrate that many in Sudan have not only survived but have demonstrated their exceptional resilience and created economic value in unconventional ways.

In doing so, they seek to fill the void left by the collapse of institutions and the economic devastation wrought by the war. However, more sustainable, long-term solutions are urgently needed, requiring the engagement of institutional actors within Sudan and the international community to ensure security, secure resources, and support the provision of essential public goods. Without such support, informal systems will remain dominant, enriching armed actors and deepening the misery caused by the war.

Shortlink: https://sudanhorizon.com/?p=7275