500 days of the siege – Al -Fasher children face hunger, displacement and fatal violence

In a press release, UNICEF reported that at least 600,000 people – half of them children – from El -Fasher and the surrounding camps in recent months. And inside the city. An estimated 260,000 civilians, including 130,000 children, are still trapped in miserable conditions, and aid has been cut off for more than 16 months.

Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director, said: “We are witnessing a devastating tragedy – the children of El -Fasher are starving while preventing the life -saving nutrition services provided by UNICEF.”

She warned that obstruction of the arrival of humanitarian aid is a serious violation of children’s rights. She said: “Children’s life is at stake. UNICEF continues to call for immediate and complete arrival, including by expanding the fighting periods to allow us to reach all needy children. Children must be protected at all times, and they must get life -saving aid.”

Disatable losses among children

UNICEF warned that the losses of children are catastrophic. Since the siege began in April 2024, more than 1,100 has been verified as serious violations in El Fasher alone, including killing and mutilation of more than 1,000 children. Many of them were killed in their homes, inside the displacement camps, or in the markets.

At least 23 children are exposed to rape, group rape, or sexual assault, while others were kidnapped, recruited or used by armed groups. Given the limited access and verification difficulties, the number of affected children is definitely much higher.

This week, another incident of collective losses occurred, as seven children were killed in an attack on the Abu Shok camp for internal displacement, located on the outskirts of Al -Fasher.

Health facilities suspend their services

In El -Fasher, the siege imposed by the Rapid Support Forces caused the supply lines completely cut off. Health facilities and mobile nutrition teams were forced to suspend their services due to the depletion of supplies and the inability to introduce new supplies, which left an estimated 6,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition without treatment. Without therapeutic food and medical care, these children have a great risk of death.

Health and education facilities were subjected to continuous attacks, as 35 hospitals and 6 schools were bombed, including the Saudi Motherhood Teaching Hospital, which was bombed more than ten times, killing and wounding many, including children. In January, the shelling destroyed the treatment center in Abu Shok camp, which deprived thousands of children – who suffer from malnutrition – of treatment.

Meanwhile, acute malnutrition is spread quickly. More than 10,000 children have been treated in El Fasher from severe severe malnutrition since January – which is nearly twice the number recorded last year. But the depletion of supplies is now forced to suspend services. Recent reports indicate that at least 63 people – most of them women and children – died due to malnutrition in one week.

The situation in the broader area is also concerned; In July, the locality of Melt – which hosts many displaced people from El Fasher – has recorded an acute rate of 34.2%, which is a record number since the war began in Sudan.

The worst cholera for decades

UNICEF explained that the siege coincides with the worst cholera outbreak in Sudan for decades. Since July 2024, more than 96,000 suspected cases and 2,400 deaths have been reported, with approximately 5,000 cases and 98 deaths in Darfur alone. In the densely populated camps around the long, Zamzam and Al -Fasher, the children who were weakened by hunger became severely vulnerable to deadly water diseases.

UNICEF said it continues to invite the government of Sudan, and all other parties concerned, to help ensure sustainable and without obstacles to children wherever they are in Sudan, including:

• An immediate and sustainable human stood in El Fasher and through other areas affected by the conflict.
• Human arrival without obstacles to delivery of therapeutic food, medications, clean water, and other necessities.
• Re -creation and continuity of United Nations and partners in the most affected areas.
• Protecting civilians, including children, and civil infrastructure in line with international humanitarian law.