UNICEF warns that children in Darfur are confronting a new humanitarian catastrophe, twenty years after the region first attracted global attention. The agency’s latest report, Darfur: Twenty Years On, Darfur’s Children Remain at Risk, documents a sharp rise in extreme violence, displacement and deprivation across Sudan, with a particular focus on the city of El Fasher.
Since April 2024, more than 1,500 grave violations against children have been recorded in El Fasher alone. The incidents include the killing or maiming of over 1,300 children—many by explosive weapons and drones—alongside sexual violence, abductions and the recruitment of minors by armed groups. UNICEF cautions that these figures likely underestimate the true scale, as similar patterns are reported in other parts of the country.
Across Sudan, the United Nations has logged over 5,700 grave violations against children since the war began, affecting at least 5,100 minors and resulting in more than 4,300 deaths or injuries. The situation deteriorated further in the first quarter of 2026, when 160 children were reported killed and 85 injured, a notable increase from the same period in 2025.
The report draws parallels with the 2005 UNICEF Children’s Alert, which spurred a large‑scale humanitarian response. Today, the needs of Darfur’s children are both larger and more complex. Homes, markets, schools and health facilities have been destroyed or damaged, forcing families to flee. Millions have been displaced, including large numbers who have crossed into eastern Chad, where already strained services are struggling to cope.
Children are losing access to education and health care, while rates of acute malnutrition, disease and violence rise. Ongoing fighting and the siege of El Fasher have cut off food, clean water and medical supplies, pushing families into overcrowded, insecure areas. Damage to essential infrastructure is exacerbating famine, hunger and disease, further eroding livelihoods.
UNICEF attributes the limited reach of humanitarian assistance to insecurity, bureaucratic hurdles and chronic funding shortfalls. The agency urges all parties to respect international law, protect civilians—especially children—and guarantee safe, unimpeded humanitarian access. It also calls on donors for flexible, multi‑year financing to sustain life‑saving programmes and support children displaced across borders.
“Twenty years ago the world united to condemn the suffering of children in Darfur. Today a new generation faces the same horrors of violence, hunger and displacement,” the report states. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell added, “We cannot allow history to repeat itself. The children of Darfur need protection and sustained humanitarian access. The parties to this conflict must end this brutal war.”
