New York/Port Sudan, August 27(Darfur24)
UNICEF warned on Wednesday that the city of El Fasher in North Darfur, Sudan, has become a hotbed of suffering for children suffering from malnutrition, disease, and violence, claiming young lives daily.
UNICEF said in a statement that at least 600,000 people—half of them children—have been displaced from El Fasher and the surrounding camps in recent months. An estimated 260,000 civilians, including 130,000 children, are trapped in desperate conditions, cut off from aid for more than 16 months.
“We are witnessing a devastating tragedy – children in El Fasher are starving while UNICEF’s life-saving nutrition services are being denied,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Denying humanitarian access is a grave violation of children’s rights, and children’s lives are at stake.”
She said the death toll on children is devastating. Since the siege began in April 2024, more than 1,100 grave violations have been verified in El Fasher alone, including the killing and maiming of more than 1,000 children, many of whom were injured in their homes, in displacement camps, or in markets.
At least 23 children have been raped, gang-raped, or sexually abused, while others have been abducted, recruited into, or used by armed groups. Given limited access and the difficulty of verifying facts, the number of affected children is undoubtedly much higher.
The statement noted reports this week of attacks that caused significant casualties, with reports of seven children killed in an attack on the Abu Shouk camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) on the outskirts of El Fasher.
It added, “The siege imposed by the Rapid Support Forces on El Fasher has completely cut off supply lines. Health facilities and mobile nutrition teams have been forced to suspend services as supplies have run out and no new supplies have been brought in, halting treatment for an estimated 6,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.”
The statement noted the rapid spread of acute malnutrition, noting that more than 10,000 children in El Fasher have been treated for severe acute malnutrition since January, nearly double the number last year. It also indicated that at least 63 people—mostly women and children—died from malnutrition in just one week.
UNICEF called on the Sudanese government and all concerned parties to establish an immediate and sustainable humanitarian truce in El Fasher and throughout the conflict-affected areas. Providing unhindered humanitarian access to deliver therapeutic food, medicines, clean water, and other essential supplies.