蜜桃交友

By Thaddeus Jones

At least 40 children have been killed in shelling across parts of Sudan in recent days where violence has flared in the states of South Kordofan, Darfur, and Khartoum. UNICEF, the United Nations agency for protecting and assisting children, decried the latest violence, which also maimed at least 29 other children since Monday, 3 February, calling it "a stark illustration of the devastating – and growing – threats to children in Sudan."

Appeal for end to violence

In a statement, UNICEF's Sudan Representative, Annmarie Swai, writes that, “sadly, it is rare that more than a few short days go past without new reports of children being killed and injured." She reports that during the second half of 2024, the conflict in Sudan spread to other areas of the country, with more than 900 episodes of grave violence against children and with over 80 per cent accounts of killing and maiming of children in Darfur, Khartoum and Al Jazirah States. The violence shows no signs of abating.

Annmarie Swai adds further that “children in Sudan are paying the ultimate price of the relentless fighting" and calls "on all parties to the conflict to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law" to ensure respect and protect the rights of all children in Sudan. She appeals for an immediate end to the violence as "children’s lives and futures hang in the balance."
 

UNICEF works to protect the rights of every child, especially the most disadvantaged and those hardest to reach in more than 190 countries and territories globally, doing whatever possible to help children survive, thrive, and fulfil their potential.

12 million people forced to flee

Sudan's war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began in April 2023 and has led to what has been described as the world’s worst displacement crisis. The violence has forced over 12 million people from their homes. 

Pope Francis has frequently called attention to the suffering in Sudan, appealing for humanitarian aid, dialogue, and negotiation to end the conflict. Recently, the Pope urged world leaders "to commit themselves fully to negotiations aimed at ending all ongoing conflicts." He was speaking on the eve of a summit on children's rights hosted by the Vatican on Monday the 3rd of February that brought together advocates for the rights of children from all over the globe.