As the war in Sudan enters its 32nd month, the suffering and wounds endured by children deepen by the day. The armed conflict has claimed the lives of thousands of young people in cities and regions across the country due to both indiscriminate and targeted shelling, as well as hunger and the lack of food and medicine. Meanwhile, other children are forced to carry weapons and pushed into battles raging on multiple fronts.
Reflecting the horrifying reality surrounding them, the Preliminary Committee of the Sudan Doctors Syndicate announced that 25,000 children have died since the outbreak of the conflict, in addition to 45 girls and boys who were raped while fleeing from El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State. The committee also reported serious injuries among around 566 children.
Brutal Acts
In this context, the Secretary-General of the National Council for Child Welfare in Sudan, Abdelqader Al-Amin Abu, stated that 200,000 children in El-Fasher and Nyala (North and South Darfur) were exposed to RSF shelling from the start of the war until last August. He added that more than 100 children were harmed in the areas stretching from Omdurman in Khartoum State to Bara and Abu Qoud in North Kordofan as attacks and violations escalated.
He explained that the RSF committed brutal acts against children in several states, recruiting 200 children to fight in its ranks in the Nuba Lake area west of Omdurman, kidnapping 2,500 children, with another 2,500 reported missing, and causing the death of 3,000 children during displacement journeys.
Abu also pointed out that large numbers of children suffer from the lack of education and healthcare in areas controlled by the SPLM–North under Abdelaziz Al-Hilu in South Kordofan. He added that the council is working with relevant ministries to activate social protection systems, secure safe shelters, and develop a database for justice and service provision, as well as a plan to ensure food security for children in war-affected areas.
Killing and Atrocities
For her part, Adeeba Ibrahim, a member of the Preliminary Committee of the Sudan Doctors Syndicate, stated that 25,000 children aged from newborns to 16 years old have been killed since the war began, and around 566 children have suffered severe injuries.
She added that 45 children were subjected to sexual assault and rape by RSF members during their escape from El-Fasher to the Tawila area in North Darfur, and that all cases received treatment from Doctors Without Borders in the region.
Ibrahim also reported that 800 unaccompanied children had arrived from El-Fasher to displacement camps, some suffering from malnutrition and psychological trauma after witnessing atrocities during their escape.
She called on the warring parties to open safe corridors for humanitarian aid, noting that children in camps are already suffering from hunger and disease.
Shot Dead
Similarly, child protection specialist Adel Sati expressed deep fears that the continued expansion of the war into the states of Darfur and Kordofan will inevitably lead to the deaths of even more children. He particularly highlighted the catastrophic reports emerging from North Darfur, where testimonies from people fleeing El-Fasher indicate that dozens of children have been shot dead.
Sati said that the prolonged conflict effectively destroys any future for surviving Sudanese children, whose suffering is compounded by extreme deprivation of basic rights, including healthcare and education.
He added that the situation has become far worse and more frightening than Sudanese people anticipated, especially regarding the fate of children in the most heavily affected conflict zones—North Darfur and South Kordofan—which are witnessing the fiercest battles.
Horrific Violations
In newly released statistics that reveal the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe faced by children, UNICEF announced that grave violations of children’s rights in Sudan have increased by 1,000 percent since the war began, urging the world not to abandon millions of affected children.
UNICEF highlighted grave violations including killing, maiming, abduction, forced recruitment, and sexual violence, noting that these violations “increased by 1,000 percent over two years” and have spread across the country.
It added that the number of children killed or injured rose from 150 confirmed cases in 2022 to around 2,776 cases between 2023 and 2024.
UNICEF’s Director of Emergency Programs, Lucia Elmi, stated that more than 16 million children in Sudan are in urgent need of assistance, and that girls face severe dangers including sexual violence, trafficking, and forced marriage. She stressed the urgent need for immediate measures to protect children.
Elmi noted that children are being killed, maimed, and displaced, with grave violations reported daily. Many face the risk of forced recruitment by armed groups, child labor, and early marriage. She emphasized the devastating psychological impact, as conflict, loss, and displacement have left children suffering from anxiety, depression, and trauma.
She warned that 3 million children under five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year, including 770,000 with severe acute malnutrition, the deadliest form of hunger, which makes children 11 times more likely to die from disease. She added that the crisis extends beyond food shortages: without safe water, sanitation, and healthcare, children cannot survive, and essential services have collapsed in famine-affected areas.
