The United Nations has verified the grim toll of the conflict in Sudan, confirming that at least 35 children have been killed in a brutal attack in the village of Wad Al-Noora, located in Sudan’s central Gezira state. The attack, which local officials claim has resulted in as many as 200 deaths, marks one of the most lethal incidents in the civil war that has ravaged the country for over a year.
Eyewitness accounts describe the horrific scenes of violence, with videos circulating on social media showing rows of bodies prepared for burial, although these have not been independently verified. Sudan’s army, under the leadership of Army Chief and President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has vowed retaliation against the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, which it accuses of perpetrating the “massacre of civilians.” The RSF has denied these claims but acknowledged conducting military operations near Wad Al-Noora.
In Khartoum’s sister city of Omdurman, the Karari Resistance Committee reported about 40 people killed due to “violent artillery fire” by the RSF. This comes days after the deadly assault on Wad Al-Noora that prompted UNICEF’s Executive Director, Catherine Russell, to lament the heavy price paid by Sudanese children, stating, “This is yet another grim reminder of how the children of Sudan are paying the price for the brutal violence.”
The civil war in Sudan, which began as a power struggle between al-Burhan and Hemedti, leader of the RSF, has now escalated into a proxy war with regional and international dimensions. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Russia are all implicated, with Russia seeking a Red Sea port deal that would bolster its military presence in the region.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), around 18 million people in Sudan are acutely food insecure, and nearly five million are suffering emergency levels of hunger. The conflict has created severe challenges for aid delivery, with 90% of those living in emergency conditions located in areas where access is incredibly limited due to ongoing violence.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) warns that internal displacement across Sudan could soon exceed 10 million people, a figure that includes a substantial number of women and children. The IOM Director General, Amy Pope, has called for international attention to Sudan’s crisis, stating, “Imagine a city the size of London being displaced. That’s what it’s like, but it’s happening with the constant threat of crossfire, with famine, disease and brutal ethnic and gender-based violence.”
“Because of the displacement, because people are constantly on the move we are having to constantly change our distribution points so
that we are able to meet those people,” said Michael Dunford, the WFP’s regional director for East Africa.
Relevant articles:
– 35 children among those killed in latest Sudan civil war carnage, U.N. says, cbsnews.com, 06/09/2024
– Dozens killed near Sudan’s capital as UN warns of soaring displacement, Al Jazeera English, 06/08/2024
– Sudan: WFP expands emergency response; scores dead in village massacre, UN News, 06/06/2024
– Over 100 Killed by RSF Fighters in Attack on Sudanese Village, Democracy Now!, 06/07/2024
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