At least 330 child casualties in Sudan this year: UN

KHARTOUM: The war in Sudan between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has killed and injured at least 330 children in the first six months of 2026, the United Nations’ children’s agency said Monday.

Children “are being killed and injured in their homes, on the roads, in markets, and while attempting to access essential services such as education and healthcare”, UNICEF’s Sudan chief Sheldon Yett said in a statement.

Since April 2023, the war between the former allied forces has killed tens of thousands, with aid workers estimating over 200,000 killed.

At an effective stalemate, both sides have relied extensively on drone strikes, which have killed more than 1,000 people this year alone and account for 60 percent of child casualties in the Kordofan region, according to UNICEF.

The North Kordofan town of El-Obeid has been pummelled by paramilitary drones for weeks, which have hit civilian infrastructure including power stations, water systems and schools.

The UN has raised a “red alert” that the RSF is preparing to mount a deadly offensive on the city, threatening half a million people.

It has voiced fears that there could be a repeat in El-Obeid of atrocities committed during the RSF’s October 2025 assault on the city of El-Fasher, which a UN inquiry found bore “the hallmarks of genocide”.

“Any further deterioration could expose even more children to death, injury, displacement and other grave protection risks,” UNICEF said Monday.

Across Sudan, five million children are internally displaced, according to UN figures. Millions are going hungry, including over 825,000 children under five suffering severe acute malnutrition.