Sudanese economists estimate that the economic loss caused by the ongoing war over the past three months stands at U.S.$9 billion, while the value of property and goods plundered is estimated at another $40 billion.
Economist Haisam Fathi told Radio Dabanga that these estimates were based on research conducted by economic experts. The war has affected the industrial and banking sectors in particular, and the states where production has been most affected are Khartoum and South Darfur.
The economists spoke to Radio Dabanga as heavy bombing by the Sudanese Air Force hit the country’s central cities of Khartoum and Omdurman. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) responded with anti-aircraft missiles. Civilian deaths and injuries have been reported as a result of the intensified fighting, which is seriously impacting already-troubled healthcare facilities.
Elsewhere, a town in South Darfur has been taken over by the RSF, sparking violence, looting, and yet another wave of displacement. According to a tracking system established by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), fighting between the RSF and the army in the area of Kass had forced up to 5,000 families to flee, some of them from displaced persons’ camps.
As a result of the fighting, nearly 200,000 people have been displaced over the past week. Overall, more than 2.6 million people have been internally displaced since the start of the conflict on April 15, 2023.
On Tuesday, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and the head of the World Food Programme, Cindy McCain, visited a camp in eastern Chad that has taken in Sudanese refugees. Mohammed said she was inspired by the courage of those who had fled there, many of whom were women and children.
Source: allafrica.com
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 21 JULY 2023
