Sudanese desperate for passports
Sudanese are fleeing the brutal fighting between army troops and paramilitary forces vying for control of the country
Daily TribuneSudanese are fleeing the brutal fighting between army troops and paramilitary forces vying for control of the country
Since authorities inaugurated a new passport office in the eastern city of Port Sudan in late August, hundreds of people have lined up all day, every day.
They are desperate to obtain paperwork that will allow them to leave Sudan's deadly war behind.
In five months of war, the violence has killed 7,500 people, displaced more than five million and eroded Sudan's already fragile infrastructure, plunging millions into dire need.
A million people have crossed Sudan's borders since 15 April, fleeing from harm as the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces battle for power.
Many civilians have flocked to the coastal city, which has so far been spared in the fighting and is now home to government officials, the United Nations and Sudan's only functioning airport.
But days go by and only a lucky few manage to get inside the building to hand in their paperwork, as others wait outside for their turn.
Those lucky enough to get inside the building have to enter "a cramped room, terrible heat and no chairs," an applicant, Shehab Mohammed, told Agence France-Presse.
"It's so crowded it's hard to breathe. Imagine what these children and old people are feeling," Fares Mohammed, another applicant, said.
More than 2.8 million people have fled the Sudanese capital Khartoum, where the pre-war population was around five million.
Some left immediately for safer places, but others spent months sheltering in their homes, rationing water and electricity while praying that the rockets were farther away than they sounded.
More than half the country is in urgent need of humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations, and six million people are on the brink of famine.
WITH AFP
