Picture: Timothy Bernard/African News Agency (ANA) Archives
The spiralling war in Sudan has led to a network outage of MTN lines with the mobile company saying it was working around the clock to fix the problem.
MTN said on Friday the shortage of fuel and power cuts in Sudan have led to the network outage.
Sudan was in its third week of the war between rival military factions led by head of the Sudanese Armed Forces, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The UN has been calling for a ceasefire between the two factions to allow for the distribution of essential supplies, including food and water to people trapped in Khartoum and other cities.
UN Refugee Agency chief Martin Griffits was in Port Sudan this week to monitor the distribution of supplies, but the war made the delivery of the supplies difficult.
More than 500 people have been killed since the war started in April and thousands have been injured.
The MTN Group said the war situation has had an impact on its network in the country.
“MTN Sudan regrets to inform its valued customers, partners, and the public that our main switch sites in Manshia and Garden City have shut down due to fuel shortages and grid power cuts, resulting in a complete network outage. We are working diligently to resolve the situation as soon as possible,” said MTN.
“The company fully understands the impact this may have on communication needs and extends its apologies for any inconvenience experienced during this challenging time.
“MTN Sudan remains committed to providing essential communication services while prioritising the safety and well-being of all stakeholders,” it added.
The African Union and other regional leaders have been trying to facilitate peace talks between Dagalo and al-Burhan.
The two served on the military council that ruled Sudan after the overthrow of former president Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
But they could not agree on the integration of the RSF into the regular army.
The fallout led to the escalation of tensions and finally the open war that has ravaged the capital and major cities.
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