April 25 (Reuters) – Osman Salih in Khartoum has discovered it exhausting sufficient to guard his circle of relatives via days of heavy preventing which have hammered Sudan’s capital, but he nonetheless battles on to stop lions and different wild animals ravenous at a sanctuary he runs.
“We’re struggling on one aspect to feed our household and kids and shut ones,” he mentioned.
“And on the identical time, we will not surrender on the duty in direction of the animals that we have labored so exhausting to rescue and maintain,” Salih mentioned in a video interview from the sanctuary at Al Bageir, southeast from the capital.
Gunfire, shelling and air strikes between the military and rival paramilitary teams have pressured residents to cower at residence or flee a metropolis the place primary companies have collapsed and meals is in alarmingly quick provide.
Because the warfare erupted on April 15, tens of hundreds have already left for neighbouring international locations, regardless of the uncertainty of situations there.
“We have now no provides, no gasoline, no electrical energy, no water,” mentioned Salih, who travels 15 km (9 miles) to the outskirts of Khartoum to take care of and feed greater than 200 animals, together with 25 lions and 6 hyenas.
“We’re actually risking our lives daily to attempt to attain [the sanctuary], if not daily, each different day,” he mentioned.
“The most important danger proper now could be that if these animals proceed to really feel agitated and uncomfortable, they may attempt to break free,” he mentioned, including that the electrical system that secures the enclosures is just not working with out energy.
Salih mentioned his crew got here beneath reside fireplace within the first few days of preventing, and bombshells hit the sanctuary, together with the lion enclosure.
Widespread looting provides to his considerations.
“We’re very apprehensive. We’re very scared … all people is on their very own proper now preventing for their very own survival.”
Thus far, Salih mentioned, he has been capable of stability conserving his household and the animals protected however he doesn’t understand how lengthy he can stick with it.
“It is a very exhausting selection. Daily we have now to step out of the door and go and maintain the animals with out realizing if we’ll be capable of come again or not.”
Writing by Alexandra Hudson
Enhancing by Tomasz Janowski
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