At least 260,000 children have fled North Darfur since an April assault on Zamzam camp, Save the Children says, braving killings, rape and looting as General al-Burhan’s army (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces battle for control.
Half the girls interviewed reported sexual violence while escaping the besieged settlement. Most arrived at Tawila, 60 km away, after walking days with elderly relatives or riding donkeys; many lost parents or siblings en route.
Twelve-year-old Salma said her grandfather died of exhaustion during the trek. Another child, Tahha, 12, is still separated from his family and fears they were killed. New arrivals sleep on bare ground, face searing heat and hunger, and remain at risk from roaming gunmen.
“This is a generation that has been to hell and back,” said Francesco Lanino, Save the Children’s deputy country director. He urged an immediate ceasefire, safe humanitarian corridors and a major scale-up of aid, warning that “Sudan’s future is at stake if the fighting does not stop.”
