Ongoing conflict in Sudan causing escalating environmental damage

Transcript

00:00The environmental toll of the conflict is reaching catastrophic levels.

00:12In the country, there are damaged factories, leaking chemicals and collapsing public services.

00:20Our factory was hit and we lost control of stored materials.

00:24The RSF burned large parts of it and we were worried about leaks, but there was no access

00:30for repairs and no authorities to manage the site safely.

00:34In Khartoum, key industrial and energy sites have been hit hard.

00:40Many stand broken and abandoned.

00:42Some still storing hazardous materials.

00:45Their proximity to residential areas means pollution is spreading directly into communities

00:51already struggling to survive.

00:53The capital was occupied by the RSF militia for two years.

00:58Health facilities were occupied as well.

01:01It became a breeding environment for diseases and this prevented any efforts to defeat the

01:05pandemics as the state was a war zone and even medical staff were targeted and killed

01:11and ambulances were looted.

01:13Exiblosive weapons have shredded buildings that contain materials like asbestos, a known

01:19cause of chronic respiratory illness.

01:21With little capacity to clear debris, families remain exposed to hazardous dust every day.

01:27The destruction of sanitation and water plants has left waste treatment systems non-functional.

01:34Solid waste now piles up in open areas and drains into the Nile, posing a grave risk of disease

01:41outbreaks.

01:41I got sick a few days after returning home.

01:47I have dengue fever and typhoid.

01:50Most of my family members are sick.

01:52The pollution is everywhere.

01:54Residents living near industrial areas say the pollution is now part of daily life and contaminated

02:01water is a breeding ground for diseases like malaria, cholera and typhoid.

02:07Health workers call for an urgent intervention, warning that Sudan could face long-term environmental

02:14damage that may take years or even decades to reverse.

02:20As the conflict in Sudan continues, the environmental fallout is growing, largely unmonitored and untreated.

02:27These consequences may outlast the war itself.