15 Children Killed in Drone Strike on Sudan Displacement Camp

At least 15 children were killed and 10 others injured in a drone strike on a displacement camp in West Kordofan, Sudan, according to UNICEF.

In a statement published Thursday, UNICEF said families fleeing hunger and violence in Sudan have sought refuge in displacement camps, only to face continued insecurity.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell warned that similar alarming patterns of violence are emerging across the Kordofan region, echoing conditions previously seen in Darfur, where children have been killed, injured, displaced and deprived of essential services needed for survival.

The agency urged Sudan’s government and all parties to the conflict to protect civilians, particularly children, halt attacks on civilian infrastructure including displacement sites, and ensure safe, sustained and unhindered humanitarian access as needs escalate rapidly.

Darfur and Kordofan remain at the epicenter of what humanitarian officials describe as the world’s largest ongoing humanitarian crisis. Violence continues to spread, famine conditions have been confirmed in parts of the country, and acute hunger persists. Nearly 100,000 people have been displaced in Kordofan in recent months alone.

Separately, Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned that violations and abuses committed by the Rapid Support Forces and allied militias around El Fasher in October risk being repeated in the Kordofan region.

The UN statement condemned what it described as horrific violence against civilians, particularly women and children, and grave breaches of international humanitarian law.

It stressed that such violations could amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity and must be investigated promptly and impartially, with those responsible held accountable.