Thirst in Sudan’s Red Sea state and North Kordofan

People living in Suakin, south of Port Sudan in Red Sea state, are complaining about a severe drinking water crisis. In El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan, people took to the streets in protests against recurrent water outages.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, journalist Osman Hashim reported that “the acute shortage of drinking water has driven the commercial prices of water to new heights”.

He explained that the crisis is caused by the lack of water at the Hendoub dam, while the town of Suakin relies on the lake for the provision of drinking water.

Hashim appealed to the authorities to solve the water problem as soon as possible, “as the summer is nearing”.

On Thursday, people in nine districts in El Obeid in North Kordofan staged a vigil in front of the government secretariat, condemning the ongoing drinking water crisis.

Residents told Dabanga Radio that the nine districts have been witnessing water outages for several days. The El Obeid Water Corporation attributed the problems to the water supply network.

In response to the protest, the authorities held a meeting that included district representatives and the director of El Obeid Water Corporation.

After the meeting, the authorities promised to solve the problem within 24 hours.

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