Fighting between the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan’s North Darfur has tragically claimed the lives of at least 13 children, with four others injured, UNICEF reported. The children, aged between 6 and 17, were caught in recent airstrikes carried out by the Sudanese army.
The strikes hit a market in the town of Al Kuma, located about 70 kilometers east of El Fasher, North Darfur’s capital, according to the local news outlet Daily Sudan Post. Other reports from the Sudan Tribune and the Central Observatory for Human Rights indicated that the strikes also targeted the nearby city of Mellit, killing at least 45 people and wounding dozens.
Hamrat al-Sheikh, in North Kordofan, was also bombarded, according to Mohammed H. al-Ta’ishi, a former member of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council. Al-Ta’ishi noted that this area had seen no prior confrontations since the war began in April 2023.
The conflict between the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces, which initially erupted in Khartoum, has since spread nationwide, with Darfur enduring particularly intense violence.
“These attacks on children are abhorrent. Children have no part in wars, yet they are the ones suffering the most,” said UNICEF’s representative in Sudan, Sheldon Yett. He added that children should be protected in their homes, neighborhoods, and streets.
Since the start of the conflict, the U.N. estimates that 20,000 people have been killed, and thousands more have been injured. The fighting has also displaced over 10 million people, including 2.4 million who have sought refuge in neighboring countries.