“The Desperate Need for Basic Necessities During Khartoum’s Ongoing Conflict: Activists Call for Groceries to Provide Items on ‘Note’ for Struggling Residents”

Saleh, who works in the government sector, suffers from a severe shortage of liquidity, as she, like hundreds of thousands of state employees, did not receive her monthly wage for the second month in a row because of the fighting that has been going on for more than 6 weeks in Khartoum between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.

And in light of the difficult conditions experienced by the residents of Khartoum and other Sudanese cities; Activists launched a popular campaign under the title “On the Note”, calling on the owners of groceries and food stores to give the residents their daily needs, provided that they pay the value later after the war stops and liquidity becomes available.

A social activist who identified himself as “Abu Hala” says that there is an urgent need to help those stranded inside Khartoum, who do not have enough money to buy what they need to feed their families.

Another activist commented on Abu Hala’s call by saying that the conditions of the current war require everyone to come together, calling on the grocery owners to give people their needs on the “note” so that conditions can be facilitated.

And with the continuation of the fighting, the expansion of violence and looting within residential neighborhoods, and the great shortage of liquidity, the circle of those who suffer from difficulty in obtaining food commodities is expanding daily, the prices of some of which have increased by more than 4 times.

While a few grocery and bakery owners are trying to adapt to the current difficult conditions and continue to open their shops, many of them preferred to close their shops due to the scarcity of goods and fear of looting and theft, which has become a visible feature in most neighborhoods of the capital.

In light of the great destruction that affected more than 90 percent of the factories of food commodities and other consumer items, the supply chains of markets and grocery stores have completely stopped.

Taha Othman, who runs a grocery store in northern Khartoum, says that he was forced, under pressure from security conditions, to close his shop, which had been supplying residents with their needs for more than 30 years.

Othman explains to “Sky News Arabia”: “It is impossible to continue opening groceries and shops in light of the current security conditions, the suspension of supplies of goods, and the large increase in the prices of a few commodities that can still be obtained, and customers are finding it very difficult to provide the liquidity needed to purchase their needs.

Othman points out the difficulty of the equation, as while the merchants feel the suffering of the people, there is great difficulty in continuing to supply them with their needs in light of the current market conditions.

In fact, recent weeks have witnessed a significant rise in the prices of basic commodities, especially sugar, flour and oils, with the disappearance of a number of commodities from the shelves of a few shops that are still operating until now despite the continued bombing and fighting.

In this context, Othman points out that the prices of some commodities have increased more than 3 times, which added an additional burden on the consumer, who is already suffering from scarcity of liquidity due to the delay in the payment of wages, the closure of banks, and the cessation of more than 95 percent of daily business, which constitutes the main source of income for more than 70 percent of the heads of families of the population of Khartoum, which numbered about 10 million people, before it fell to less than 7 million after the outbreak of fighting, which led to the flight of more than 3 million to the internal regions and neighboring countries.