Sudan's violence epidemic: Deadly attacks on civilians soar to record high
The incidents included airstrikes, drone assaults, artillery shelling, armed clashes, child kidnappings, killings, and sexual violence.
The final months of 2024 saw the highest levels of violence in Sudan since the war began nearly two years ago, Save the Children has reported, with deadly attacks on civilians including children continuing into 2025.
An analysis of data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) recorded over 700 violent incidents targeting civilians between October and December 2024, a dramatic increase compared to previous months.
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In December alone, there were 199 attacks, rising from 217 in November and 288 in October 2024.
The incidents included airstrikes, drone assaults, artillery shelling, armed clashes, child kidnappings, killings, and sexual violence.
This wave of brutality has persisted into 2025, with ACLED documenting 208 violent events in January, a 78 per cent increase from the same month last year.
Among the casualties were a high school student killed on January 5 and a father shot dead in front of his children on January 8, 2025.
El Fasher, a city in North Darfur, witnessed some of the most severe attacks at the end of January.
An assault on the Abu Shouk camp left at least seven people dead and 11 injured, while an attack on the El Fasher Saudi Teaching Hospital killed about 70 people, including children, and wounded many more.
Grave violations
The United Nations has condemned the escalating violence, warning of "shocking levels" of grave violations against children, including recruitment into armed groups, abduction, sexual violence, and attacks on schools and hospitals.
Much of the recent fighting has centred in Al Jazirah and North Darfur, where over 1.4 million people more than half of them children have been displaced.
Both regions saw a sharp rise in violence in late 2024, with continued attacks in the first weeks of 2025. Women and children have borne the brunt of the conflict.
Now in its 21st month, the war in Sudan has forced nearly 12 million people from their homes, making it the worst internal displacement crisis in the world, according to the UN's International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Children face dire food shortages, with famine conditions confirmed in at least five areas.
Mohamed Abdiladif, Save the Children's Country Director for Sudan, expressed deep concern over the worsening situation.
"We are concerned that violence has been on an upward trajectory with no end in sight. This year, children and their families, especially those sheltering in North Darfur and Khartoum, have endured indiscriminate shelling and bombing with devastating consequences," he said.
"The impunity with which attacks on civilians and their infrastructure is happening across Sudan, including targeted assaults on hospitals, markets and water facilities, undermines international law,"
"Save the Children is calling on all parties to this conflict to respect civilian protection under international law, avoid placement of military objectives near civilian areas and to ensure the removal of civilians from active conflict zones," Mohamed added.
Save the Children has been operating in Sudan since 1983, providing health, nutrition, education, child protection, and food security support.
The organisation is also assisting Sudanese refugees in Egypt and South Sudan.
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