A spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday that drone strikes were responsible for two-thirds of the children killed or injured in Sudan’s war during the current year.
Speaking at a press conference held at the United Nations Palais des Nations in Geneva following a visit to Sudan, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said: “Drones have caused two-thirds of child casualties this year.”
He explained that drones had brought the war to areas that were previously considered safe.
He noted that 15 power stations had been targeted in attacks during the previous month, describing these geographically widespread and rapidly escalating strikes as a dangerous intensification of attacks on civilian infrastructure.
“Let me explain why the combination of drones and drought poses a deadly threat to children. Electricity means access to water. When a power station is hit, water pumps stop operating and water treatment processes come to a halt, forcing families to resort to costly and unsafe alternatives. Diseases then spread,” he said.
He added that attacks on power stations threaten refrigeration facilities used to preserve vaccines and medicines. They also deprive farmers of the ability to irrigate their crops, amid severe fuel shortages, making food increasingly inaccessible to growing numbers of families.
