Sudan: Chemical contamination deepens Khartoum’s water crisis

Mysterious epidemics are spreading in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, including dengue fever, malaria, and viral hepatitis, as well as measles and diphtheria, at a time when the war that began in mid-April 2023 continues unabated between the Sudan Founding Alliance ‘Tasis’ and the army affiliated with the Port Sudan authorities.

Despite the health risks, thousands of Sudanese have turned to drinking water from the Nile and shallow wells, as well as using various other water sources, leading to outbreaks of diseases, particularly cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A, and giardiasis, according to Sudanese reports.

Amid the health catastrophe, vast areas of Khartoum are facing a severe water shortage that threatens the lives of millions, particularly those who have returned from the hardship of displacement and asylum only to find themselves confronted with a severe scarcity of drinking water.

Reports confirm that, for months, obtaining a single drop of water in a number of Sudanese cities and rural areas has become a daily ordeal for thousands of citizens, who spend long hours waiting in lines for tankers distributing water to neighborhoods.

Earlier, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned that the shortage of clean water had reached a critical level in the city of El Obeid.

Faced with a water crisis that has become the foremost concern for thousands of Sudanese, local authorities and the federal government have been unable to find fundamental, or even temporary, solutions.

The availability of water is no longer the only pressing concern for Sudanese. The lack of safe drinking water and contamination resulting from the bombing of water-treatment facilities during the war have placed Sudanese people before a genuine health catastrophe.

One resident recounts the daily struggle to secure safe drinking water, noting that “the concern is no longer simply the scarcity of water, but the diseases it carries.”

He confirmed that “the majority are forced to disinfect the water before drinking it, but this option has become a costly financial burden.”

Akram Mahjoub, a resident of the Jadin area in Omdurman, says that “the situation is alarming, particularly after two families, comprising eight people, died from poisoning caused by contaminated water in the area, in addition to dozens suffering from watery diarrhea.”

In a statement to Independent Arabia, he pointed out that “the lack of access to clean water, health services, and sanitation in areas west and south of Omdurman has contributed to the spread of diseases, leaving hundreds infected and resulting in dozens of deaths.”

He added that “most health centers have ceased operating, as have pharmacies, while even the few that remain open have raised the cost of treatment. As a result, patients have been unable to undergo medical tests or purchase medicines after exhausting their financial savings.”

Meanwhile, press reports and investigations have spoken of chemical contamination affecting water sources and causing a health catastrophe, while the U.S. newspapers The New York Times and The Washington Post have indicated that the army used chemical weapons during the ongoing war.

The Washington Post two days ago revealed documents showing that the Sudanese army had established a secret stockpile of chlorine bombs and used them, noting that Sudanese military officials attempted to conceal the stockpile after the chlorine bombs were used.

It explained that the development of chemical weapons in Sudan involved “diverting shipments of chlorine intended to provide clean drinking water, concealing warhead production sites at military bases, testing bombs in remote desert areas, and preparing lists of targets where toxic gas could penetrate the enemy’s defenses.”

It pointed to “dual-effect” munitions filled with “choking gas,” as well as videos showing weapons tests producing plumes of green and yellow vapor, and messages between Sudanese military officials indicating that army forces stored as many as 290 chemical munitions.

In assembling its presumed arsenal, the Sudanese army appears to have relied on scrap components, diverted chlorine shipments, and a rudimentary manufacturing process.

According to the newspaper, the collection includes photographs and videos showing dozens of primitive bombs stacked in warehouse-like structures.

According to the newspaper, several photographs show groups of cylinders resembling those widely used for household barbecues, as well as tanks whose primary purpose is to store liquefied gas. Welders then fitted them with pointed noses, spring-loaded firing pins, and aerodynamic fins intended to ensure that the bombs fell nose-first onto their targets.

Gareth Williams, a former senior official at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and currently a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a British defense and security research center, said: “The evidence is concerning and deeply troubling.”

He noted that the storage of chlorine munitions “cannot be conclusively verified through visual evidence alone, but the indicators are strongly consistent with the existence of a chemical weapons program.”

Meanwhile, local authorities attribute the water crisis in parts of the country to a number of causes, including the suspension of maintenance at production facilities that suffered extensive acts of sabotage during the war, fuel shortages, and the authorities’ inability to purchase spare parts.

Two months ago, the Khartoum State Water Corporation said that the shortage of water supplies in the northern Bahri area, north of the capital, was due to the Nile receding from the intake of the station supplying the area.

Caught between the twin crises of thirst and contamination, Aida Abdullah, 58, says: “Obtaining drinking water has become a great dream for families. Water is unavailable either through distribution lines or for purchase, and residents have appealed to charitable organizations to provide them with water, while they stand for hours in long queues to fill containers and barrels.”

Aida, a mother of five, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed media outlet that: “Despite the exorbitant prices and the state of poverty, the water crisis has become the greatest concern for thousands of families that have returned from displacement and asylum, only to find themselves facing shortages of water and fuel and power cuts, forcing their members to become displaced once again.”

In this context, an engineer with the Khartoum State Water Corporation told the Sudan Tribune that they have been facing exceptional and unprecedented conditions since the beginning of this year, as the receding flow of the Nile has coincided with severe damage to the infrastructure of the main stations.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said that workers are fully aware of the scale of citizens’ suffering and the difficulty of obtaining a drop of safe drinking water.

He pointed out that the full stabilization of supplies depends on protecting the stations and ensuring a regular supply of energy and water-treatment materials.