UNITED NATIONS, United States, March 27, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - At least 825,000
Sudanese children are trapped by fighting around the beleaguered state
capital of North Darfur, threatened by violence or starvation, UNICEF warned
Wednesday.

"We cannot turn a blind eye to this hell on earth," said Sheldon Yett, the UN
children's agency representative for Sudan, demanding an end to the conflict.

The Sudanese army has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces
(RSF) for almost two years, and the town of El-Fasher in North Darfur is
under siege.

"An estimated 825,000 children are trapped in a growing catastrophe in and
around El-Fasher," said Yett, adding that more than 70 children have been
killed or maimed this year.

"With these numbers reflecting only verified incidents, it is likely the true
toll is far higher, with children in a daily struggle to survive," he said.

In North Darfur, more than 60,000 people have been displaced in the past six
weeks, adding to the more than 600,000 displaced -- including 300,000
children -- since the war started in April 2023.

The war between General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's army and Mohamed Hamdan
Daglo's RSF has claimed tens of thousands of lives and driven 12 million
people from their homes.

A few weeks ago, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the UN World Food
Programme suspended their work in a huge displaced persons camp in Zamzam,
just south of El-Fasher.

UNICEF, however, continues to operate there and in the city itself, but food
supplies are expected to run out within weeks.

"UNICEF delivered ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), and other lifesaving
supplies to Al Fasher three months ago, but these stocks are now depleted,"
Yett said.

"Repeated efforts by UNICEF and partners to deliver more supplies have been
unsuccessful given threats from armed fighters and criminal gangs."