Donkey prices rose insanely after the Rapid Support Forces invaded the city of Wad Madani and stopped transportation services (Al Jazeera)

Khartoum -

All of Ahmed Ibrahim’s attempts to provide a car to transport his sick mother from the city of Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira State in central Sudan, to the adjacent Sennar State were unsuccessful, and he had no choice but to use a donkey-drawn cart - popularly known as the Karoo - to take them to a distant point to obtain private car.

Since the Rapid Support Forces invaded Lod Madani, adjacent to the capital, Khartoum, on December 18, all health and emergency facilities have been disrupted, and transportation lines and the movement of private cars, whose owners are afraid to drive them for fear of being looted, have stopped.

Ibrahim fled to Wad Madani after the fighting intensified in the capital, where he was residing in the Al-Kalakla suburb, south of Khartoum. He told Al-Jazeera Net that he failed to provide a car to transport his sick mother to undergo the dialysis session she has been undergoing for two years.

Vigorous efforts

The young man talks about his tireless efforts to convince a number of rapid support personnel stationed inside the neighborhood to allow him to go out and transport his mother to catch the late session or to help transport her, but they refused.

As his mother's health condition deteriorated, Ibrahim received advice from his neighbor that he should look for "Caro" to transport her.

Indeed, after an arduous search trip and with the help of neighbors, Ibrahim found “Karo” and his owner agreed to take them to a specific point near the city limits. He then transported them in a car whose owner agreed with the Rapid Support elements to allow him to be in it.

Ibrahim, according to his narration to Al Jazeera Net, agreed with the owner of the cart to transport his mother and some luggage a distance of up to 13 kilometers in exchange for 250,000 Sudanese pounds (about 250 dollars), and they arrived at the meeting point with the cart driver after a full day of walking and spending periods of rest. And eat under the trees.

Muhammad Ali, who works in the livestock trade, says that the prices of donkeys recorded a significant increase in recent weeks, ranging between 600 and 650 thousand pounds ($600) per donkey, while their price before the war did not exceed 150 thousand pounds ($150) after they were transformed into The only means of transportation in the city.

On the other hand, the prices of horses - although low - have risen insanely to the equivalent of $1,500 per horse.

Muhammad pointed out that many people are using donkeys and horses that pull carts, for ambulances and transporting goods and transportation currently, with the lack of car movement and the current fuel crisis.

New transformation

A member of the resistance committees in Wad Madani - who requested to remain anonymous - says that residents have come to rely mainly on animals for transportation, ambulances, and transportation, in a new transformation of the appearance of life in the city, which is one of the largest cities in Sudan.

The committee member strongly criticized the restrictions imposed by the Rapid Support Forces on residents and their movement, in addition to the confiscation of cars and other means of transportation.

One of those who succeeded in fleeing from Wad Madani to Sinnar State confirmed to Al Jazeera Net that he and his family used a “Caro” vehicle when they left, as the Rapid Support Forces do not show much interest in the matter, at a time when the movement of cars is prohibited, and members affiliated with them often They looted it at gunpoint, claiming they needed it for work.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Abdul Rahman Al-Amin, the owner of the “Karo” vehicle, believes that the population’s shift to using this method resulted from the lack of any other option after the movement of transportation and ambulances stopped, vehicles were prevented from passing, and the Rapid Support Forces set up checkpoints in the streets of Wad Madani and imposed security restrictions on the areas. Driving any car.

Sudanese poet Hashim Siddiq is transported on a horse-drawn cart to receive treatment (communication sites)

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He also confirms that some cart owners are taking advantage of the current situation by raising the transportation value, while others provide the service at reasonable prices, according to his statement.

Al-Amin talks about his contribution to transporting more than 21 families since the Rapid Support Forces entered the city, and transporting water and food supplies to some neighborhoods far from the city center and its main market.

In mid-September, the image of the famous Sudanese poet Hashim Siddiq, being transported on a horse-drawn cart, sparked widespread reactions in Sudan and abroad.

His family was forced to evacuate him in this vehicle from his home in the Bant neighborhood in the city of Omdurman in the capital, Khartoum, to receive treatment after preventing cars from entering and exiting the neighborhood controlled by the Rapid Support Forces.

Source: Al Jazeera