Worsening Hardship in El Obeid as Volunteers Step In to Support Residents

Residents of El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State, are facing rapidly deteriorating living conditions amid overlapping crises involving water, electricity, fuel, and healthcare services, coupled with widespread shortages of essential commodities and soaring prices.

The worsening situation has prompted hundreds of young volunteers to organize emergency response rooms to help provide drinking water and bread to affected communities.

Volunteers said the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate day after day, accusing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of deliberately shelling fuel stations and the city’s main water sources in its southern outskirts.

As a result, the price of a barrel of water has risen to 20,000 Sudanese pounds (approximately US$4), while a gallon of fuel now costs 125,000 pounds (around US$25).

Residents are forced to wait for hours in long queues in the Alban Jadid area, located about 20 kilometers south of El Obeid, in order to obtain water.