Save the Children has said the conflict in Sudan is particularly dangerous for children 17 of which were killed and a further 22 injured in a particularly violent October in El Fasher.
Save the Children’s statement on Wednesday came as the city marked 18 months of siege.
Save the Children analysed casualty reports from the Sudan Doctor’s Network – a group of medical professionals tracking the war –in October and found at least 115 civilians were killed and a further 102 injured in six attacks on the besieged town. Among these casualties were 17 children killed, and 22 children injured [1].
”All the reported child deaths took place in a series of attacks on the Dar al-Arqam Displacement Centre in El Fasher on 11 October, when nine girls and eight boys, including a newborn just seven days old, were killed, according to UNICEF” the international children’s watchdog said in a statement.
Quoting local reports, it added that most of the victims were burned alive inside metal caravans used as makeshift homes, while others remained trapped beneath collapsed structures as fires raged through the site.
Seven of the child injuries took place in a deadly attack on a civilian neighbourhood on 6 October, in which 13 people were killed and 19 others injured. A pregnant woman was also amongst the casualties [1].
Save the Children quoted UNICEF as reporting that some 130,000 children remain trapped in El Fasher, as the city marked 18 months of siege this October.
”Children and families are living in desperate conditions, marked by repeated violent attacks, severe hunger, a lack of clean water, and limited medicines” it said.
The volatile security situation is forcing many—especially women, children, and youth—to remain in El Fasher, despite ongoing attacks and limited access to humanitarian aid. Movement in and out of the city is extremely restricted, further complicating response efforts and deepening the humanitarian crisis.
Abdiladif Mohamed, Save the Children’s Country Director in Sudan, said: “No child should ever be killed or injured in conflict. The deliberate or reckless harm of children, or attacks on the places where they should be safe, is indefensible. All parties must protect children and uphold international humanitarian law — it is a duty owed to every child.
Amid the fighting between the Sudanese reuglar army and fighters of the Rapid Support Forces, communities in parts of North Darfur are grappling with famine-like conditions, with widespread hunger and rising levels of child malnutrition due to prolonged siege and restricted humanitarian access.
WN/as/APA