Sudan war has killed 25,000 children, medics say; 45 girls raped fleeing El Fasher

December 2, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – More than 25,000 children have been killed and 45 girls raped while fleeing the North-Darfur city of El Fasher since Sudan’s war began, a doctors’ group said on Tuesday, citing unpublished field data.

Adiba Ibrahim al-Sayed, an internal medicine and epidemiology specialist with the national doctors’ syndicate, told Sudan Tribune the toll covers newborns to 16-year-olds recorded through this week. A further 566 children have suffered life-threatening injuries, she said.

All 45 rape cases were reported in October and November as families trekked the 60 km (37 miles) from El Fasher to the town of Tawila after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the city on October 26, al-Sayed said. Médecins Sans Frontières treated the survivors in Tawila, now hosting 655,000 displaced people.

The doctors’ group also documented 800 unaccompanied children who reached Tawila, some showing acute malnutrition and trauma after witnessing killings en route.

“Communication blackouts and roadblocks make verification almost impossible, but the pattern matches earlier UN findings,” al-Sayed said.

The United Nations estimates 106,000 people have fled El Fasher; the fate of the remaining 154,000 residents is unknown. The RSF, which has previously denied targeting civilians, did not respond to a request for comment.