Severe violations against children have escalated in Sudan’s Darfur region since the beginning of the year, with 110 confirmed incidents in North Darfur alone and an alarming 83 percent rise in child casualties compared to the first quarter of 2024.
In Al Fasher, North Darfur, over 70 children have been killed or injured within a span of less than three months.
Since early 2025, heavy shelling and airstrikes at the Zamzam camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) have accounted for 16 percent of all confirmed child casualties in Al Fasher.
“Approximately 825,000 children are caught in an escalating crisis in and around Al Fasher,” stated Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative for Sudan. “These figures only reflect verified cases, suggesting that the actual number is likely much higher, with children facing daily challenges to survive.
The threat of death looms constantly for children, whether from the surrounding conflict or the breakdown of essential services they depend on for survival.”
In just six weeks, over 60,000 individuals have been newly displaced in North Darfur, adding to the more than 600,000 people who have been displaced since April 2024, when violence intensified, through January 2025 – including 300,000 children.
An estimated 900,000 people remain in Al Fasher, with 750,000 in the Zamzam camp, trapped by ongoing conflict. Half of these individuals are children.
All access routes are obstructed. The Tawila-Zamzam road, previously a crucial connection, is now impassable due to a complete breakdown in security.
Armed groups are targeting rural communities, and the prevailing insecurity has rendered the delivery of aid and commercial goods nearly impossible.
Communities are facing critical shortages of water, food, medicine, and nutritional supplies, with food prices nearly doubling in the last three months.
Malnutrition is widespread, with North Darfur reporting over 457,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition, including nearly 146,000 experiencing severe acute malnutrition (SAM), the most lethal form.
Six areas in the state are facing a threat of famine, all of which have been severely impacted by violence and limited access to resources.
Three months ago, UNICEF provided ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) and other essential supplies to Al Fasher, but those resources have now run out.
Despite repeated attempts by UNICEF and its partners to send additional supplies, these efforts have been thwarted by threats from armed groups and criminal organizations. In Zamzam, 2,300 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition are currently receiving treatment, but the RUTF inventory is expected to be exhausted within the next three weeks.
UNICEF warns that if supplies cannot be delivered, approximately 500,000 children are at immediate risk.
