CAIRO — More than 300 children have been killed or injured in the last six months in the war in Sudan, mostly from drone strikes, the U.N. children’s agency said Monday.
The Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been fighting since April 2023.
The war is now concentrated in the Kordofan, Darfur and Blue Nile states, with drone warfare causing 60% of casualties, according to UNICEF.
The U.N., U.S, U.K. and others have expressed alarm about potential atrocities as the RSF and the military fight for control of the strategic city of el-Obeid in North Kordofan.
In Geneva on Monday, the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council approved a measure, brought by five European countries, condemning the escalating violence by the RSF and its allies in and around el-Obeid.
The measure, approved without a vote, also encourages greater support for countries hosting refugees from Sudan and condemns “all forms of external interference” in the war, among other things.
The conflict has killed at least 59,000 people, displaced some 13 million and pushed many parts of Sudan into famine. More than 30 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Drone strikes and shelling have targeted civilian infrastructure including schools, markets, fuel and water stations, putting over 500,000 people at risk. Civilians in some areas have faced almost siegelike conditions for over a year.
“Children are being caught in a relentless cycle of violence, displacement and deprivation,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF representative for Sudan.
The U.N. called on parties “to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, allow and facilitate safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access, and take all possible measures to protect children from harm.”
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This version corrects the name of the state to Blue Nile.
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