Sudan’s war leaves women, children facing rape, famine: UN

August 13, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – The ongoing conflict in Sudan has exposed countless women and girls to sexual violence and left tens of thousands of children at risk of starvation, UN aid officials warned on Tuesday.

James Elder, a spokesperson for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), described meeting a medical worker at a hospital outside Khartoum who had encountered “hundreds of women and girls, some as young as eight years old, who have been raped.” The medic also spoke of the “distressing number of babies born after rape who are being abandoned.”

Elder emphasized that “countless atrocities” against children have gone unreported due to limited access. He warned that without urgent action, tens of thousands of Sudanese children could die in the coming months. Disease outbreaks, exacerbated by flooding, pose a severe threat.

The UN migration agency, IOM, echoed these concerns. IOM’s Chief of Mission in Sudan, Mohamed Refaat, highlighted the alarming scale of displacement, with over 10.7 million people seeking refuge within the country. Many have been displaced multiple times.

“Almost the whole capital of the country has been displaced,” Refaat said, citing the displacement of more than one in three internally displaced persons from Khartoum.

Both UNICEF and IOM emphasized ongoing challenges in accessing vulnerable populations due to the conflict, leaving many trapped in a “very hostile war environment” without access to basic services.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) recently reported famine conditions in parts of North Darfur, with an additional 13 areas on the brink. The conflict has disrupted agriculture and supply chains, contributing to the food crisis.

The UN agencies called for urgent action to address the humanitarian crisis in Sudan and protect civilians, particularly women and children.