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As It Happens

Internet in Sudan is 'patchy at best.' UNICEF says it could get much worse

Getting access to the internet is no small feat in Sudan, according to Jill Lawler, making it difficult for her teams at UNICEF to deliver aid to the country ravaged by an ongoing civil war.

Jill Lawler says groups like UNICEF rely on the satellite internet service to distribute aid and stay safe

Philip Drost · CBC Radio ·
A line of men stand outside looking at cellphones
Residents and displaced people try to access the internet via Starlink in the city of Omdurman, Sudan, on March 9, 2024. (El Tayeb Siddig/Reuters)
As It Happens7:02UNICEF begs Elon Musk to keep internet running in Sudan

Getting access to the internet is no small feat in Sudan, according to Jill Lawler.

"It is patchy at best. And non-existent for many, many households and parts of Sudan," Lawler, chief of field operations and emergency for UNICEF in Sudan, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

"Not having regular access means that we don't have the opportunity to respond as quickly as we could."

Earlier in the year the country was plunged into an internet blackout, as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue to wage war against the Sudanese military. 

According to the UN, about nine million people have been displaced by the civil war, and 25 million are in need of assistance. 

Lawler says further threats to the country's internet could amplify that. Starlink, the satellite internet service owned by Elon Musk's SpaceX, has said it plans to discontinue service in many countries where it isn't authorized to operate, which includes Sudan. 

A man holds his phone, trying to open Facebook.
In Sudan, it can be a struggle to connect to internet. Jill Lawler says people rely on the internet to let family know if they are safe. (Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters)

Importance of access

According to the Wall Street Journal,  many of the Starlink terminals in Sudan were purchased by the RSF from dealers in the United Arab Emirates. The Journal said neither SpaceX nor Musk has responded to requests for comment.

Aid groups are pushing for the decision to be reversed. On Wednesday, 94 rights groups working in Sudan issued a statement on the importance of Starlink. 

"Any shutdown of telecommunication services is a violation of human rights and may be considered to be a collective punishment that will not only isolate individuals from their support networks but also exacerbate the already dire economic situation facing millions," said the coalition. 

Lawler says people in Khartoum and into the Kordofan and Darfur regions, "internet has not been a part of their reality for some time."

Without internet access, Lawler says it's more difficult to communicate with staff, and get in touch with partners who keep UNICEF up-to-date.  

"Starlink has enabled households to be able to access internet, and it seems like such a simple thing, but it's the means to be able to communicate with one another, with their families, to be able to say whether or not they are OK," said Lawler.

Rebel soldiers stand on and around a military truck.
Fighters of the Sudan Liberation Movement, a Sudanese rebel group active in Sudan's Darfur State that supports army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, attend a graduation ceremony in the southeastern Gedaref state on March 28, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)

She says without internet, people can't receive bank transfers, and many are living with little to no money. 

"Internet connectivity saves lives, and internet connectivity needs to be restored throughout Sudan," she said.

13-month civil war

Lawler says people in Sundan have become numb to the violence in the country.

On a recent trip to Khartoum, she recalled hearing mortar rounds being fired. She could hear gunshots as she visited a water treatment site. 

"Communities are relatively unfazed … mortars are firing and traffic continues," said Lawler. 

There are fears that the city of al-Fashir, the Sudanese army's last stronghold in the western Darfur region, could become an all-out battleground. 

"We're very concerned about the situation. It's very hard to get supplies into al-Fashir at the moment," she said.

"Sudan desperately needs peace. Al-Fashir needs peace. And hopefully sense will prevail."

With files from Reuters. Interview with Jill Lawler produced by Chloe Shantz-Hilkes.