Khartoum, MINA – The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported Tuesday that child casualties in Sudan jumped 50 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year, according to Anadolu Agency.
Noting that at least 245 children were killed or wounded between January and March, with the worst violence concentrated in the Darfur and Kordofan regions, UNICEF said drone strikes have emerged as the leading cause of harm, accounting for nearly eight in ten child casualties recorded so far this year.
“For three years, children across Sudan have been killed, injured, and displaced at staggering levels,” said UNICEF chief Catherine Russell in a statement, referring to the civil war in the North African country that began in April 2023.
“Their homes, schools, and hospitals continue to come under attack. There is no justification for violence against children. It reflects a collective failure by parties to the conflict to protect the most basic rights of children,” she added.
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Saying that UN monitors have logged more than 5,700 serious violations against children since the conflict began three years ago, the statement said: “The true toll is far higher, but insecurity and limited access to affected areas hinder sustained monitoring and verification.”
UNICEF stressed that across Sudan, an estimated 4.2 million children are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2026, warning that more than 825,000 of those cases are severe enough to be fatal without urgent treatment.
Nearly half of all schools have been shuttered or repurposed for non-educational use, leaving 8 million children without access to education.
UNICEF said it has received only 16 percent of the $963 million it requires to deliver lifesaving assistance this year, urging the international community to strengthen its support.
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“We cannot look away from the suffering of children in Sudan,” Russell said.[]
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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