Sudan: At least 17 dead after aerial bombardment in southern Khartoum

In total 17 people, including five children, killed in airstrike in southern Khartoumas announced on Saturday by its authorities Sudan.

“The Yarmouk region was targeted by an air attack and the first estimates speak of 17 dead, including five children, and the destruction of 25 houses”the Sudanese capital’s health service said in a post on its Facebook page.

Since April 15, fighting between the Sudanese army under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitaries of General Mohamed Hamdan Daghlo has brought the country, one of the world’s poorest before the war, to the brink of disaster.

Only a part of the services of the hospitals located in the war zones work, on the days when they are not completely closed. The crisis is expected to worsen as the rainy season approaches, which usually brings with it malaria, food insecurity and infant mortality.

In Darfur, where reports of mass violence against civilians are mounting, “5.6 million children live, of which 270,000 were displaced due to the conflicts”Unicef ​​noted.

In this vast area, on the border with Chad, “a lack of drinking water exposes children to dehydration, diarrhea and malnutrition.”

The conflict in Sudan has killed more than 2,000 people, according to the latest tally by the non-governmental organization ACLED. More than 2.2 million people have fled the country, more than a million of whom fled Khartoum, according to the International Organization for Migration.

More than 528,000 refugees have taken refuge in neighboring countrieswhile more than a million children, including 270,000 in Darfur, have been forced to flee their homes due to clashes between the army and paramilitary groups, according to a recent announcement by Unicef

According to the organization, more than 13.6 million children are in need of humanitarian assistance in Sudan. Of these, 620,000 are suffering from acute malnutrition and half are at risk of death if they do not receive timely help.