Three months in: Billions lost in Sudan War

Post By Diaspoint | July 21, 2023

Three months into the outbreak of the Sudan war, observers have estimated economic losses to the civil war in the billions of United States (US) dollars, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported on Wednesday.

Unofficial estimates place the daily cost of the civil war in Sudan at nearly half a billion dollars per day, the news agency reported.

Overall, economic cost estimates range anywhere from just below $5 billion to around $45 billion in just three months, since April 15.

Economists and observers have not agreed on an estimate, but even the lowest $5 billion loss in gross domestic product (GDP) incurs insurmountable costs on Sudan’s mere $30 billion economy.

Moreover, AlAraby has reported data confirming heavy losses in some areas of the country.

The Sudanese people have been paying the ultimate price for the ongoing conflict, sparked primarily by the rivalry between army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hamidti, and their forces.

Coping with the costs of the Sudan War

Head of the Economic Committee of the National Umma Party, Siddiq al-Mahdi, estimated the daily military spending and the losses of the ongoing war at about half a billion dollars per day.

Other, possibly more exaggerated estimates have set costs at nearly $10 billion dollars per day, according to AlAraby.

In a post on Twitter, Mahdi warned of civil war and the growing food shortages.

The war is destroying infrastructure and the industrial sector, contracting growth, and reducing job opportunities, he pointed. Adding that the conflict has ruined the agricultural season.

Banks are being looted and services are being interrupted, Mahdi highlighted, underlining that most agricultural lands will soon not be suitable for farming.

The failure of the agricultural season affects 40 percent of the population, increases the food gap and causes farmers to drop out of the workforce, according to Mahdi.

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