Five million children ‘on edge’ due to war in Darfur: UNICEF
- November 21, 2023
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He UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday that at least five million children are “on the brink” in the Sudanese region Darfur After the outbreak in April
He UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday that at least five million children are “on the brink” in the Sudanese region Darfur After the outbreak in April war between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The organization explained that since the start of hostilities there has been more than 3,100 complaints of serious violations of children’s rights in the African country, at least half of which are in the region, also saying the data is “just the tip of the iceberg” due to communications disruptions and a lack of access to some areas.
“Sudan and Darfur in particular have become hell for millions of boys and girlsand thousands of them are targets of ethnic attacks and have been killed, injured, abused and exploited. “This must stop,” said UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell.
“Children continue to suffer violence, and their parents and grandparents still bear the scars of previous cycles of violence. We cannot allow this to happen again. All parties to the conflict must respect international law and protect children and civilians. “Children need peace,” he added.
Sudanese moved to Chad after war began | Photo: Reuters Archive
Thus, the number of serious violations of children’s rights in Darfur represents an increase of 550% compared to the confirmed 2022 total. Of the total number of cases murder and mayhem in Sudan, 51% related to children residents of the city where 48% of total cases of sexual violence This was reported in an African country.
UNICEF, which stressed that it continues to receive alarming reports about recruitment and use of children in conflictsstated that more than 1.2 million children under five years of age suffer from acute malnutrition, and 218 thousand of them face the problem severe acute malnutritionits deadliest form.
The recent surge in fighting has also caused several waves of population displacement. 1.7 million new internally displaced people in Darfur, a figure that represents almost 40% of the total nationally. UNICEF also notes that almost half of them are boys and girls, who face an increased risk of abuse, violence, exploitation and separation from their caregivers.
Sudanese attempt to cross border into Chad as a result of war | Photo: Reuters Archive
Collapse of basic services
The organization also emphasized that basic services have collapsed in the region due to access difficulties, robberies and lack of financial resources, which is further exacerbated by attacks on frontline workers, while nurses, teachers, doctors and Social workers have not been paid for months critical infrastructure was damaged or ran out of supplies.
He therefore warned that a generation of children in Darfur risked losing their right to education and called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Likewise, he called on parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and facilitate unrestricted access to assistance to care for millions of vulnerable children.
UNICEF, in collaboration with its partners, delivered supplies to support frontline workers and maintain basic infrastructure to provide critical health, nutrition, water, sanitation, hygiene, education and protection services to 2.2 million children and families.
Photo: Reuters Archive
However, he stressed the need to redouble efforts to overcome the crisis and called on the international community stimulate financing of essential services resilience and assistance, and strengthening support for unhindered access to humanitarian assistance in this region of Sudan.
The war, which broke out on April 15 after serious disagreements between the army and the RSF over the integration of the paramilitary group into the Armed Forces, undermined the transition process that began after overthrow of Al-Bashir after 30 years of rule.
The conflict has already been stopped thousands dead and more than 7.1 million internally displaced people in Sudan, making this African country a country with the largest number of internally displaced persons on the entire planetAccording to the United Nations (UN).
The parties recently held talks in Saudi Arabia, but They were unable to agree on a ceasefire..
(Europe Press)
Source: Aristegui Noticias
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