A drone attack on a market in Sudan’s North Kordofan state killed at least six people, including two children, and injured over 26 others, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said.
It warned that children continue to bear the brunt of the country’s escalating conflict.
In a statement on Wednesday, UNICEF said the attack targeted a market in the town of Al-Rahad, killing two children and four adults while injuring more than 20 people, including six children between the ages of 6 and 14.
“This latest attack is a stark reminder of the horrific toll the conflict continues to take on children across Sudan,” UNICEF Representative in Sudan Sheldon Yett said.
“Markets are places where families gather to buy food, earn a living and meet their basic needs. They should never become places of death and destruction,” he added.
‘Deeply alarming’
Yett said recent violence in and around the city of El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, has drawn international attention, but warned that the situation across the state remains “deeply alarming.”
He said communities in Dilling and Kadugli in South Kordofan, parts of North Darfur, and areas of Blue Nile affected by the expanding conflict continue to face severe insecurity, displacement and growing humanitarian needs.
“Wherever the conflict spreads, children pay the highest price,” Yett said.
According to UNICEF, repeated attacks are destroying homes, schools, health facilities, water networks and markets, depriving children of access to healthcare, education, nutrition, clean water and sanitation while forcing more families to flee their homes.
Attacks on supply routes
The agency also warned that attacks and insecurity along key supply routes are disrupting humanitarian operations and restricting access to some of the country’s most vulnerable communities.
“Every child killed or injured is one too many,” Yett said, urging all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, and ensure safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access.
Sudan has been engulfed in fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, triggering what the United Nations has described as one of the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crises.
