As A Result Of The War In Sudan, 450,000 Children Were Forced To Leave The House For Protection

As the conflict continues, safe access to clean water is limited across Sudan. (Photo: Twitter/@UNICEFSudan)

JAKARTA - The weeks-long conflict between the Sudanese army and the Fast Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group has seen 82,000 children flee to neighboring countries, and about 368,000 other children are displaced domestically.

More than 164,000 Sudanese seek refuge in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, and South Sudan since violent acts erupted on April 15, 2023, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

Most recently, the United Nations Children's Funds Agency (UNICEF) said at least 450,000 children in Sudan were forced to flee their homes due to ongoing fighting.

"The brutal conflict in Sudan has caused casualties to children in the country. Thousands of children experience events that are very traumatic or are expelled from their homes in search of security," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, quoted by ANTARA, Saturday. May 13.

UNICEF also warns that the rainy season could increase the risk of disease.

On Thursday night (11/5), the warring parties in Sudan signed a commitment to allow the entry of humanitarian aid.

Since April 15, more than 550 people have died and thousands more have been injured in the fighting between two competing generals, namely military commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo.

The conflict was sparked by disagreements that have emerged in recent months between the two sides on the integration of the RSF into the armed forces, which is the main requirement of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.

Sudan does not have a government that has served since fall 2021, when the military dissolved Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move condemned by political power as a coup.

The transition period, which began in August 2019 after the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir, is scheduled to end in elections in early 2024.