The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported that more than 300 children have been killed or injured in Sudan over the past six months, with most casualties linked to drone strikes as the country’s civil war intensifies.
Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The violence is now concentrated in the Kordofan, Darfur and Blue Nile states, where drone attacks account for about 60 per cent of reported casualties.
The United Nations, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries have raised concerns over the risk of further atrocities as the RSF and government forces battle for control of the strategic city of el-Obeid in North Kordofan.
Meeting in Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council on Monday adopted, without a vote, a resolution introduced by five European countries condemning the escalating violence by the RSF and its allied groups in and around el-Obeid.
The resolution also called for increased international support for countries hosting refugees fleeing Sudan and condemned all forms of external interference in the conflict.
According to UN estimates, the war has claimed at least 59,000 lives, displaced around 13 million people and pushed several parts of Sudan into famine. More than 30 million people now require humanitarian assistance.
UNICEF Representative for Sudan Sheldon Yett said children continue to be trapped in a relentless cycle of violence, displacement and deprivation.
The United Nations has urged all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, ensure safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access, and take all possible measures to safeguard children from harm.
