Dozens of residents who escaped the besieged town of al-Hilaliya in Sudan’s El Gezira state have tested positive for cholera, providing a likely explanation for the reported deaths of hundreds, according to a medical source.
Activists report more than 300 fatalities in the town, while a diaspora group shared a list of over 400 confirmed deaths, claiming the toll is rising rapidly.
The crisis began on October 29, when the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a siege on al-Hilaliya as part of a campaign targeting eastern Gezira. The offensive followed the defection of a top RSF commander to the Sudanese army.
As reports of mass fatalities trickled out, rumours swirled about the cause of the deaths and whether RSF soldiers had intentionally poisoned people.
The RSF’s initial raid claimed at least 15 lives and displaced tens of thousands, forcing many to seek refuge in mosque courtyards. Survivors reported widespread looting by RSF soldiers, who confiscated money, cars, livestock, and even solar panels and electrical wires used to extract groundwater. Residents were left dependent on an old, shallow well that had gone unused for decades and may have mixed with sewage, according to the medics and an eyewitness.
Medical sources confirmed a surge in cases of stomach pains, diarrhea, and vomiting, with limited access to antibiotics due to the looting of hospitals and pharmacies. Many who fell ill succumbed to the disease, as only a few managed to recover.
“We escaped death by a miracle, so many around us were dying from this illness,” said a 70-year-old man. Those who wanted to leave paid RSF soldiers large sums to be transported out of the state, eyewitnesses who arrived in the army-controlled town of Shendi said. Thousands of residents, however, remain trapped.
The United Nations had earlier warned of a suspected cholera outbreak among people fleeing eastern Gezira, though it did not specifically mention al-Hilaliya. Medics at Omdawanban Hospital have reportedly treated at least 200 cholera cases from the region.
The Sudanese Ministry of Health and the RSF have not responded to requests for comment. The siege and outbreak come amid the ongoing war between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023. The conflict has devastated Sudan’s infrastructure, fueled disease outbreaks, and created one of the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises.
As conditions deteriorate in al-Hilaliya, the combination of disease, siege, and violence underscores the mounting human toll of Sudan’s civil conflict.
Melissa Enoch
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