(Geneva) The United Nations on Friday warned of the “appallingly” large number of child casualties in Sudan’s war, citing local reports that seven are being killed or injured every hour in the heartbreaking conflict. the country.
“As we feared and expected, the situation in Sudan has become fatal to an appallingly large number of children,” UNICEF spokesman James Elder told reporters. in Geneva.
According to him, the agency received information from health facilities in Khartoum and the Darfur region that 190 children were killed and 1,700 others injured in the first eleven days of the conflict, which began on April 15. These estimates have not yet been independently verified by the UN.
This figure, however, would only identify children who have been cared for in one of these establishments, the spokesperson pointed out, adding: “The reality could be much more serious”.
Since April 15, several hundred people have been killed, mainly in Khartoum and Darfur, in the conflict between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhane and the paramilitary boss of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). , Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
Successive truces between the two sides have not been respected and shelling and firefights continued to rock the capital Khartoum on Friday for the 21st consecutive day.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has also warned of the situation, calling on states to welcome Sudanese who have fled the fighting and not to forcibly return them to their country.
“UNHCR calls on all countries to ensure civilians fleeing Sudan full access to their territory,” UNHCR chief Elizabeth Tan told reporters.
UNHCR expects 860,000 people to leave Sudan for neighboring countries, adding to the 113,000 who have already fled the fighting.
In the context, the head of UNHCR calls on all countries to “suspend any negative decision regarding asylum applications lodged by Sudanese or stateless persons who lived in the country”.
She also urged to “suspend all forced deportations to Sudan, including of people whose asylum applications have already been rejected”.
