Sudan has seen a sudden spike in the demand for donkeys after a whopping increase in fuel prices, according to international media. People in the war-weary country have been turning to donkey carts as petrol stations run out of fuel.

“I escaped war in Khartoum and reached al-Qadarif. Like others, I also did not get a job here. That’s why I decided to buy this donkey cart,” Hasan Abubakar Hasan, who is now homeless, said.

A video shared by The Independent Urdu on Facebook showed that a large number of donkeys were present in al-Qadarif at a Friday Bazaar.

People have switched to old modes of transportation with the increase in fuel prices, it added.

Thousands of people have been killed in Sudan’s civil war since last April, according to United Nations experts. Media reports say the war has also disrupted the food supply in the country.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has set up checkpoints, leaving citizens stranded without road transport and petrol stations have run dry.

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Since the RSF rolled in, fuel suppliers from army-controlled areas “have not resupplied petrol stations in Al-Jazira”, a petrol station worker who requested anonymity told AFP.

The price for scarce fuel rose 20-fold to 25,000 Sudanese pounds or about $20 a litre.

Usman Ali, who works as a dealer in the bazaar, admitted that there was a big increase in rates for donkeys.

“The price ranges from $350 to $450,” he said and explained that price differs according to the type of the animal