More than 5,500 children displaced by war in Sudan el-Obeid, charity says | Children’s Rights Issues

Save the Children says families in and around the besieged city of El-Obeid are facing hardships.

More than 5,500 children have fled their homes due to fighting in the city of El-Obeid in Sudan, and thousands more are at risk, Save the Children has warned.

“When families arrive in refugee camps and in rural areas, they are faced with the challenges they face,” the international charity said in a statement. “Many are struggling to find shelter, clean water, health care and education, while population growth is straining resources that were already depleted.”

El-Obeid is home to over half a million people and has served as a humanitarian aid station in northwestern Sudan.

The civil war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which controls the Darfur region is a recent focus.

The city, where the government’s 5th Infantry Division is based, has been surrounded by the RSF for several months, and is being monitored by an increase in drone attacks that have killed civilians and destroyed civilian infrastructure, causing fuel and water shortages.

“In June, the situation… was very difficult – drones rained heavily on the city and around the city,” Emad, a villager who lives in El-Obeid with his family, told Save the Children. “About 11 places were hit, as well as fuel tanks… In addition, tanks that were not working inside the city were blown up, including water tanks.”

Siege-like conditions and an influx of migrants have also temporarily fueled the outbreak of cholera, with 300 cases confirmed by Sudan’s Ministry of Health, the charity said.

Save the Children is very concerned about the mental development of children, many of whom have experienced violence, lost loved ones, or run away several times in the past three years.

The charity said that in Sudan, children under the age of 18 make up about 55 percent of the refugees.

Francesco Lanino, deputy director of Save the Children in Sudan, said: “For children, displacement is more than losing their home. “It often means losing access to school, health care, clean water and the support systems that keep them safe and secure.”

In October, when RSF fighters captured Darfur’s capital, el-Fasher, after an 18-month siege, rights groups documented mass killings and sexual abuse of civilians, including children. The United Nations and human rights organizations warned that el-Obeid may fall soon to the same fate.

The UN Human Rights Council issued a resolution on Monday condemning the RSF’s crackdown on El-Obeid.

The Sudanese civil war began in April 2023, when a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF turned into a military conflict. Now in its fourth year, the war has devastated the country, killing thousands and forcing 4.4 million people to flee to neighboring countries.

The conflict has been characterized by human rights abuses, including alleged violations ethnic cleansing and genocide.

Efforts to resolve the conflict or enforce a ceasefire have been limited, while regional and international actors have been. accused of inciting violence. Attempts to start a peace process that the United States organized last year were abandoned after the Sudanese government said to be biased instead of RSF.