Fighting in Sudan forces 450,000 children to flee their homes

NEW YORK: At least 450,000 children in Sudan have been forced to flee their homes due to the ongoing fighting, according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
 
For weeks, the conflict-hit African nation has been engulfed by violence between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.
 
An estimated 82,000 children have fled to neighbouring countries, and around 368,000 more are internally displaced, Anadolu Agency (AA) quoted the world body agency as saying in a statement.
 
“The brutal conflict in Sudan has exacted a devastating toll on the country’s children. Thousands have experienced deeply traumatic events or been driven from their homes in search of relative safety,” said UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell.
 
More than 164,000 people have sought refuge in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, and South Sudan since the violence erupted on April 15, according to the UN refugee agency.
 
UNICEF also warned that the rainy season may increase the risk of disease.
 
Sudan’s warring parties signed a commitment late Thursday on guidelines for allowing humanitarian assistance.
 
Since April 15, more than 550 people have been killed and thousands injured in fighting between two rival generals – army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo. – BERNAMA-ANADOLU