Over 13.6 million children in Sudan need urgent lifesaving aid

KHARTOUM, Sudan – A U.N. agency Thursday said that over 13.6 million children in Sudan are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

In a statement, UNICEF said the effects of the ongoing violence continue to threaten the lives and futures of families and children.

The organization has appealed for $838 million to address the crisis.

It said basic services have been disrupted and many health facilities are closed or destroyed.

The conflict-affected African country has seen weeks of violence between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

A total of 297 children were evacuated from the Mygoma orphanage in Khartoum and moved to a transit center in a safer location.

Mandeep O’Brien, UNICEF, representative in Sudan, said millions of children in Sudan remain at risk due to the ongoing fighting.

According to the UN, more than 700 people have been killed, including 190 children, and 6,000 others injured.

More than 1 million people have been displaced and more than 840,000 have sought refuge in rural areas.

In addition, more than 250,000 have crossed Sudan’s borders.

The army and paramilitary forces have clashed in recent months over the issue of integrating the RSF into the armed forces.

This is a key condition of Sudan’s transitional agreement with the political groups.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since the fall of 2021 when the military deposed the interim government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

The transition period, which began in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, was supposed to end with elections in early 2024.