Sudan hit by $49bn in economic losses since war began

Sudan has suffered $49 billion in economic loss, infrastructural damage and looting since the ongoing conflict began three months ago, according to leading Sudanese economists. 

War between the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries has ravaged Sudan’s import and export businesses, foreign investments and internal goods production. 

Economist Haisam Fathi told Radio Dabanga that the war has affected every aspect of the Sudanese economy. 

"The ongoing fighting damaged and destroyed much infrastructure, especially for drinking water and power provision, and many health and educational services," Fathi said.

"Moreover, the magnitude of the losses of military equipment of both sides also seriously affects the state budget."

The economists said they estimated a loss of roughly $100 million per day, amounting to $9 billion - while the value of goods and property stolen from the Sudanese people may reach over $40 billion. 

Banks have also been targeted for looting across the country, and private property has been pillaged by both sides in the escalating fight.  

Bombardments have this week rained down on the country’s key twin cities of Khartoum and Omdurman, causing further damage to the country’s infrastructure. 

Towns in south Darfur, once bustling trading hubs, have been completely cleared by RSF militias, causing mass displacement that also contributes to the economic collapse. 

Some 680,000 people have already fled the country entirely, while over 2 million more internally displaced, according to the latest estimates.

Before the conflict erupted in mid-April, Sudan was already suffering from crippling economic pressures - which many believe helped to ignite the current dispute.

On 15 April, a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, burst into all-out war, claiming at least 3,000 lives and displacing more than three million people.