The ongoing conflict in Sudan has resulted in the displacement of over one million children, with 270,000 of them specifically affected in the Darfur region, according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). UNICEF has issued a warning, stating that additional children are currently facing “grave risk” in the region.
The conflict in Sudan has displaced more than one million children, 270,000 of them in the Darfur region, the UN children’s agency (UNICEF) has said, warning more were at “grave risk”.
Fighting has raged in Sudan since mid-April between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
As well as the more than one million displaced, at least 330 children have been killed and more than 1,900 wounded, UNICEF said in a statement on Thursday.
The United Nations agency said an estimated 13 million children were in “dire need” of humanitarian assistance.
It said the situation in Darfur, already scarred by a two-decade war that left hundreds of thousands dead and more than two million displaced, was especially concerning.
Daglo’s RSF have their origins in the Janjaweed militias which former strongman Omar al-Bashir unleashed on ethnic minorities in the region in 2003, drawing charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The US State Department said the atrocities unfolding in West Darfur were “primarily” the work of the RSF and provided an “ominous reminder” of the region’s previous genocide.
Miller said up to 1,100 civilians had been killed in the West Darfur state capital, El Geneina, alone.
The International Organization for Migration says the fighting has driven 2.2 million people from their homes, including 528,000 who have fled to neighboring countries.
With mediation efforts at a standstill after repeated abortive ceasefires, the fighting has raged on unabated.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
