For the fourth consecutive day, the total blackout of communication and internet networks in Sudan has disrupted the lives of millions and caused paralysis in both the public and private sectors, especially in Port Sudan in the Red Sea state, which the army has designated as an alternative capital following the outbreak of conflict with the Rapid Support Forces on April 15. Most banks are out of service along with banking applications that many rely on for financial transfers, particularly in the capital Khartoum and other cities experiencing turmoil, where families depend on support from their relatives abroad and from safe states through banking transfers.
**Internet Rush**
Footage widely circulated on social media showed Sudanese citizens rushing in long lines outside a hotel to access internet services, according to a report by the Arab World News Agency. For over two months, cities in the Darfur region in western Sudan have been isolated from the world due to the cut in communication and internet networks, with residents relying on satellite internet that is available only in limited cafes and markets.
**Impact on Banking Transfers**
The Khartoum Emergency Committee stated on Saturday that the disruption of communication and internet services "intensifies suffering as communication is nonexistent and all the aid that many families have come to depend on stops as a result, not to mention that many citizens and aid providers inside and outside rely on banking transfers to deliver support to those affected, which depends on communication and internet networks to operate."
The Sudanese Medical Association preliminary committee also stated in a statement that the cutting off of communication and internet services has hindered doctors' ability, both inside and outside the country, to provide medical consultations and health follow-ups for patients remotely. Both parties involved in the conflict in Sudan are exchanging accusations of cutting communications in several regions of the country, which has imposed a blackout on events occurring there, especially in the conflict areas in the capital Khartoum and the regions of Kordofan and Darfur.
