The United Nations children’s agency, UNICEF, has lamented that over one million children, including 270,000 in the Darfur region, have been displaced since fighting broke out in Sudan between the Sudanese Army, led by Army Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in April. The global agency cautioned that many more were at “grave risk”.
UNICEF, in a statement, decried that beside the more than one million displaced, at least 330 children have been killed and more than 1,900 others wounded.
UNICEF representative in Sudan, Mandeep O’Brien, had stated: “The future of Sudan is at stake, and we cannot accept the continued loss and suffering of its children.
“Children are trapped in an unrelenting nightmare, bearing the heaviest burden of a violent crisis they had no hand in creating — caught in the crossfire, injured, abused, displaced and subjected to disease and malnutrition.”
UNICEF said an estimated 13 million children were in “dire need” of humanitarian assistance.
The global agency indicated that it is ready to assist the children but called for “safe, unrestricted access and guaranteed security to all areas where children are in desperate need”.
UNICEF noted that the situation in the western region of Darfur, where 270,000 children are said to have been displaced by the fighting, was especially concerning. According to UNICEF, “The situation in West and Central Darfur, in particular, is characterised by active fighting, severe insecurity and looting of humanitarian supplies and facilities.
“The lack of safe water has left hundreds of thousands of children at risk of dehydration, diarrhea, and malnutrition.” .
Doctors’ Union in Sudan had raised alarm that three quarters of hospitals in the war zones have been out of service and cannot treat injured citizens.
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project had earlier reported that the war in Sudan has claimed over 2,000 lives.
The International Organization for Migration also reported that the war in Sudan has driven 2.2 million people from their homes, including 528,000 who have fled to neighbouring countries.
Several Nationals were evacuation to their home countries by their various governments at the beginning of the conflict.