El Fasher, July 7(Darfur 24)
The siege imposed by the Rapid Support Forces on El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, has led to a scarcity of food commodities and fuel, prompting some merchants to bring goods into the city through smuggling.
One of the traders in the livestock market south of the city, which is under the control of the Sudanese army and the forces of the armed movements allied with it, said that the price of most food commodities has risen by nearly 100%.
“Darfur 24” reported that the wholesalers’ warehouses had run out of food commodities, prompting some to bring them by smuggling from nearby localities at night via motorcycles.
He added: “Sugar, flour, lentils, rice, and pasta are smuggled from Al-Koma, which is a trading point for trucks coming from the border triangle area between Sudan, Libya, and Egypt, and trucks coming from the city of Al-Dabba in the northern state. The goods enter El-Fasher through members of the Rapid Support Forces who hand them over to some merchants and then bring them into the city.” The neighborhoods of southeastern El Fasher through fragmented social relations for fear of seizure and confiscation.”
He pointed out that the price of a 50-kilo bag of sugar rose from 115,000 pounds before the siege in April to 170,000 pounds, and the price of a 25-pound bag of flour increased from 36,000 pounds to 58,000 pounds, and the price of an oil jar rose from 35,000 pounds to 65,000 pounds, while the The price of a packet of pasta increased from 21,000 pounds to 43,000 pounds, and a bag of lentils weighing 20 kilograms increased from 44,000 pounds to 75,000 pounds.
A resident of the Shangil Tobay area, 55 kilometers southwest of El Fasher, revealed suicide-like operations to bring goods into El Fasher through smuggling.
He told “Darfur 24” that smuggling operations require the presence of a motorcycle as a means of transportation, a weapon for insurance, and blood sugar to hide facial features, and three bags of sugar and a bag of flour to be shipped and brought to Zamzam camp and then to the city of El Fasher.
He stated that the merchants divide the goods among themselves.
He added: “Dozens of individuals can supply goods to El Fasher from Manwashi, which enters from Nyala and whose main source is South Sudan and Chad.”
The Rapid Support Forces have besieged the city of El Fasher since last April from all directions except the western direction.
The northern and eastern direction is considered the most important and connects El Fasher to the localities of Melit and Al-Koma, which are commercial points from the Libyan border of Kufra and Al-Tineh in the state of Chad, and the city of Al-Dabba in the northern state, which is the first source of goods after the cessation of the commercial raft from the city of Kosti in the White Nile state after the armed movements announced the end of neutrality and alliance with the army. To fight the Rapid Support Forces.