The conflict in the United States, hundreds of kilometres away from Sudan, has made it difficult for Sudanese-Americans like Sali to enjoy the Muslim holy month of Ramadan calmly and happily.
ACLED, a non-profit organisation, reports that the almost year-long fighting has killed approximately 14,790 individuals.
“The current situation in Sudan is very awful. To be honest, I find it daunting to think about.”
“We’ve lost family, we’ve lost friends. And I’m not even talking about, like, the physical destruction of the country. I’m just talking about lives. I’m talking about people that have unfortunately passed away and or we lost contact with us and we assume that are dead.”
Despite calls, the warring paramilitary RSF and the Sudanese army are yet to reach a truce.
18 million Sudanese, one-third of the country’s population – – face acute food insecurity, with the country on course to become the world’s worst hunger crisis
“You’re not supposed to be in war during Ramadan. I mean, you know, if we’re thinking about, like, the religious aspect of it. But yeah, let’s talk about the religious aspect and then the political aspect. But the religious aspect is you can’t be in war. Like, how do you become, how do you reflect? How do you become spiritually aware? How do you pray? How do you fast? how do you do all of that if you’re at war?”
During Ramadan Muslims seek to deepen their connection with Allah and seek forgiveness for sins.
The UN chief expressed alarm at calls for arming civilians, and popular mobilization activities in various states across Sudan.
