130,000 Children Trapped in Desperate Conditions in Sudan’s El-Fasher (UNICEF)
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced on Wednesday that at least 130,000 children are trapped in dire conditions in the city of El-Fasher, located in North Darfur State, western Sudan—a country engulfed in armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
In a statement, the organization emphasized that besieged El-Fasher “has become an epicentre of child suffering, with malnutrition, disease and violence claiming young lives every day.” It noted that ” in recent months, about 600,000 people have fled the city and nearby camps, half of them are children.”
The statement further indicated that “inside Al Fasher, 260,000 civilians, including 130,000 children, remain trapped. They have been without humanitarian aid for more than 16 months.”
“We are witnessing a devastating tragedy,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Children in Al Fasher are starving while UNICEF’s lifesaving nutrition services are being blocked.”
“Blocking humanitarian access is a grave violation of children’s rights, and the lives of children are hanging in the balance,” Russell added.
Local committees and authorities in El-Fasher have consistently accused the Rapid Support Forces of artillery shelling and repeated attacks on the city, which has been under siege since May 10, 2024. This situation persists despite international warnings regarding the dangers of fighting in a city known as a hub for humanitarian operations across the five states of Darfur.
UNICEF’s statement highlighted the “devastating toll on children.” Since the beginning of the siege in April 2024, over 1,100 serious violations have been recorded in El-Fasher alone, leading to more than 1,000 children being killed or injured—many of whom were targeted in their homes, displacement camps, or markets.
Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese army and the RSF have been engaged in a conflict that has resulted in the deaths of over 20,000 people and displaced approximately 15 million, according to estimates from the United Nations and local authorities.
