A growing number of newborn babies are being abandoned in North Darfur’s Tawila locality, highlighting the deepening humanitarian crisis caused by conflict and mass displacement.
Community groups and human rights monitors report a sharp increase in cases of infants being left in public places across displacement camps.
Volunteers have rescued several newborns in recent months after they were found on roadsides, outside homes, near mills and at religious gathering sites.
One of the most striking incidents occurred in late May, when a newborn was discovered outside the home of a local sheikh in the Dabba Nayra camp.
The case followed the rescue of newborn twins in the same camp and the prevention of another attempted abandonment in April.
Most of the infants have since been placed with foster families within the community, while one child was reunited with its mother.
A human rights source working with UNICEF said six cases had been documented in the past three months, including one infant death.
Activists believe the true number may be significantly higher, as many cases across the conflict-affected region are never officially reported.
Psychologists and aid workers link the trend to worsening poverty, economic hardship and social stigma facing vulnerable mothers.
They also point to the lack of specialised care facilities and psychological support services for women in crisis.
The problem has been intensified by the arrival of large numbers of displaced people fleeing ongoing violence, placing severe strain on Tawila’s already limited resources and public services.
