Fears over scores of zoo animals caught in Sudan crossfire

By SAMY MAGDY
Associated Press

ASWAN, Egypt (AP) — Dozens of zoo animals in Sudan’s capital are feared dead after street battles between the country’s rival forces made the location unreachable. The facility’s director says at least 100 animals, including an elderly crocodile, giant lizards, parrots and a cobra, will have gone more than three weeks without food or water. Millions of people in Sudan have endured shortages of food, water and medicines after the conflict halted the most basic services. But as the sounds of explosions ring across the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, the animals’ caretakers are wracked with worry over the animals, particularly those that are increasingly rare to find in their natural habitats in Sudan.