Children Torn from Families Fleeing Violence in Sudan

The United Nations reported that more than 100,000 people have fled El-Fasher in western Darfur since late October, after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) retook the city from the Sudanese army.

Between October 26 and November 22, UNICEF recorded the arrival of 354 children without immediate family members at a refugee camp in Tawila, about 70 kilometers west of El-Fasher. Officials said these children were separated from their parents, who either disappeared, were detained, or killed during the conflict.

On Friday, UNICEF announced that 84 children had been reunited with their families over the past month, mostly in Tawila, where international aid organizations are providing assistance to those affected by the fighting in El-Fasher, the North Darfur capital seized by the RSF last month, according to the AP.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) reported that at least 400 children have arrived in Tawila without their parents. Some were accompanied by extended relatives, neighbors, or strangers who did not want to leave them alone in the desert or in El-Fasher, NRC advocacy manager Mathilde Vu said Thursday.

The latest wave of displacement followed deadly clashes in El-Fasher, previously the Sudanese army’s last stronghold. The war between the RSF and the military began in 2023, after tensions erupted between the two former allies tasked with overseeing Sudan’s democratic transition following the 2019 uprising.

The World Health Organization estimates that the conflict has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced 12 million. Aid groups, however, warn that the actual death toll could be significantly higher.