Sudan: Hundreds of Children Flee Alone Amid Recent Wave of Fighting

Moatinoon
Approximately 500 unaccompanied and separated children have arrived in the Blue Nile and Gedaref states within six weeks, as intense fighting forced more people to flee in search of safety after 16 months of conflict, according to Save the Children.

The escalation of violence in the capital of Sennar State, Sennar, on June 29 led to widespread battles, displacing around 725,000 people, with more than half estimated to be children, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Save the Children reported that families are fleeing to the Blue Nile and Gedaref states with an increasing number of children arriving without their parents. Many of these families are experiencing displacement for the second or third time, having first sought refuge in Sennar after fleeing Khartoum and Al Jazeera states earlier in the conflict.

Child protection teams from Save the Children in the Blue Nile and Gedaref states have registered at least 451 children between June 29 and August 14 who were forced to undertake the dangerous journey in search of safety without their families. This is the highest number recorded in such a short period since the conflict began in April 2023.

At least 60,000 internally displaced people have arrived in the Blue Nile State, residing in over 109 gathering sites and schools, which could delay the reopening of schools in September.

Heavy rains and ongoing floods are worsening the plight of families and children fleeing the fighting, as muddy and impassable roads make it difficult to deliver essential supplies, including food and medicine, to those in need.

Over 16 months of conflict have resulted in the death and injury of thousands of children, forcing many into labor, devastating the healthcare and education systems, disrupting food supplies, and creating the world’s worst displacement crisis for children, with 6.7 million children forced to leave their homes.

Mary Leupold, Save the Children’s Humanitarian Director in Sudan, said they are receiving at least nine unaccompanied children daily at internally displaced camps in the Blue Nile and Gedaref states. She added, "During my visit to one of the camps in Gedaref last month, I saw children arriving at reception centers completely exhausted, many suffering from malnutrition after harrowing journeys."

She warned that children separated from their families face a heightened risk of violence and exploitation, including trafficking, recruitment by armed groups, and sexual and gender-based violence.