One child killed or injured every hour in Sudan: UN
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According to the UN children's agency, at least 435 children have died and 2,025 have been wounded, emphasizing that the true number could be much higher.
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South Sudanese refugee children and Ugandan children attend class in a tarpaulin tent, at the Bidi Bidi refugee settlement in northern Uganda. (AP)
According to the UN children's agency, one Sudanese child has been killed or injured every hour on average throughout the country's terrible conflict, which has already lasted for 100 days.
Since April 15, violent and large-scale clashes have been taking place between the Sudanese army forces and the Rapid Support Forces in separate areas of Sudanese territory, most of which are concentrated in the capital, Khartoum, leaving thousands dead and wounded among civilians.
Since the conflict began, UNICEF has documented "2,500 severe violations of children's rights – an average of at least one an hour."
According to the government, at least 435 children were murdered and 2,025 were wounded, but the exact number is likely far higher. An additional 14 million children are in desperate need of humanitarian support.
Read more: Sudanese army accuses RSF of exploiting children in combat
Ted Chaiban, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director for Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations, stated that "every day children are being killed, injured, abducted and seeing the schools, hospitals and the vital infrastructure and life-saving supplies they rely on damaged, destroyed or looted," adding that previous generations who witnessed cycles of violence are now forced to see their offspring endure the same fate.
According to the latest United Nations statistics, the conflict in Sudan has so far displaced about three million people, including about 700,000 who have crossed the border into neighboring countries.
Over half of Sudan's 48 million people now require humanitarian assistance to live, but the UN and relief organizations are failing to assist owing to a shortage of permissions from the government and cash from foreign donors.
According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, the country is "on the verge of collapse," detailing that "Sudan was already facing an overwhelming and vastly neglected humanitarian crisis before the war broke out. The first 100 days of fighting have brought it to catastrophic levels."
The situation is expected to worsen during the rainy season, which heightens the risk of flood, famine, and the spread of diseases, including malaria and cholera.
On Sunday, one of Sudan's senior army commanders, Yasser Atta, harshly criticized Kenya for considering deploying African soldiers to Sudan.
Speaking to his forces, he proclaimed, "Let Kenya send its army and the armies of the countries that support it, along with all other mercenaries. None of their men will return."
On Sunday, the local "resistance Committee", a pro-democracy neighborhood group in Sudan, launched an appeal for financial help to support those suffering from food scarcity.
The UN also warned that the violence might push an additional 2.5 million people into food insecurity within months, implying that 19 million people will require humanitarian assistance to avoid famine.
