More than 300 children killed or injured in Sudan war in 6 months, UNICEF says

CAIRO (AP) — The war in Sudan has killed or wounded more than 300 children in the last six months, mostly from drone strikes, the U.N. children’s agency said Monday.

The Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been fighting since April 2023. The war is now concentrated in the Kordofan, Darfur and Blue Nile states, with drone warfare causing 60% of casualties, according to UNICEF.

The U.N., U.S, U.K. and others have expressed alarm about potential atrocities as the RSF and the military fight for control of the strategic city of el-Obeid in North Kordofan.

In Geneva on Monday, the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council approved a measure, brought by five European countries, condemning the escalating violence by the RSF and its allies in and around el-Obeid.

The measure, approved without a vote, also encourages greater support for countries hosting refugees from Sudan and condemns “all forms of external interference” in the war.

The conflict has killed at least 59,000 people, displaced some 13 million and pushed many parts of Sudan into famine. More than 30 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Drone strikes and shelling have targeted civilian infrastructure including schools, markets, fuel and water stations, putting over 500,000 people at risk. Civilians in some areas have faced almost siegelike conditions for over a year.

“Children are being caught in a relentless cycle of violence, displacement and deprivation,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF representative for Sudan.

The U.N. called on parties “to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, allow and facilitate safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access, and take all possible measures to protect children from harm.”

Separately, at least 15 informal miners were killed when a defunct gold mine partly collapsed Monday in the district of Wadi Halfa, close to Sudan’s border with Egypt, authorities said.

Another miner was injured in the collapse of the Mohamed Taqfiq mine, the state-run Sudanese Mineral Resources Co. The company said the miners resumed excavations at the site, although authorities had previously closed it over safety concerns.

Sudan is one of Africa’s top gold producers. It produced 70 tons of gold last year, up from 64 tons in 2024, according to official figures.

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining accounts for the majority of gold extracted in the sprawling country, where safety standards are largely ignored.

Collapses are not uncommon in the country. In May, at least seven miners were killed in a mine collapse in the Red Sea province. Thirteen others were killed in another collapse in South Kordofan province in January.

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This version corrects the name of the state to Blue Nile.