KHARTOUM – At least 12 children, some as young as two, were killed in two separate attacks in Sudan’s West Kordofan State and Khartoum within three days, UNICEF said, renewing calls for parties to the conflict to protect children and civilian areas.

Nine children were killed on Saturday, Oct. 17, in an attack on a camp sheltering displaced families east of Sanakit in West Kordofan, according to UNICEF.

The victims included five boys and four girls between the ages of five and 10.

The attack underscores the risks facing displaced families in Kordofan, where fighting and insecurity have continued to force civilians from their homes despite efforts to seek safety in camps and other displacement sites.

Two days later, on Monday, Oct. 19, an armed drone struck a residential area in Khartoum, reportedly killing three children — two girls and a boy aged between two and six — as well as their father.

The Khartoum attack came as drone warfare has increasingly affected populated areas of Sudan, with strikes and attempted attacks reported in the capital, Kordofan, Blue Nile and eastern parts of the country.

“In West Kordofan, children were killed in a camp where their families had sought safety. And in Khartoum, three young children were reportedly killed alongside their father in their residential neighbourhood,” said Angela Kearney, UNICEF’s acting representative in Sudan.

She said families were struggling to protect their children whether they fled violence or returned home, but neither displacement nor return was guaranteeing their safety.

Many families have begun returning to parts of Khartoum after changes in territorial control during the war, even as drone attacks and unexploded ordnance continue to pose risks in residential areas.

Sudan’s conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began in April 2023, has displaced millions of people and exposed children to killing, injury, displacement and disruption of essential services.

UNICEF said children continue to face deadly violence more than three years into the conflict, including in places where displaced families have sought refuge.

The agency called on all parties to comply with international humanitarian law and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.

It stressed that children must be protected at all times, regardless of whether they remain displaced or have returned to their communities.