In Sudan’s battle-hit capital, residents desperately count their last banknotes as nearly two weeks of fighting has frozen cash sources and pushed an already faltering financial system to the brink.
Banks have been closed since battles broke out on April 15 between forces loyal to rival generals, and Khartoum’s five million residents, running low on food and basic supplies, are now almost out of cash as well.
“Even if you have money in the bank, it means nothing,” researcher Hamid Khalafallah told AFP. “Your money is trapped in the bank.”
The fighting that has killed hundreds of people has also taken its toll on basic services such as water supply and electricity.
With intermittent internet and communications, even banking apps are no longer accessible, and shuttered airports mean liquidity that had previously arrived from abroad has been cut off.
“People were not prepared for what happened,”…
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