Due to the recent holidays to mark Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, students received extended leave, including for the heat alert
The war raging in Sudan could leave over 700,000 children severely malnourished this year, the UN said on Friday, warning tens of thousands could die unless aid was dramatically increased.
The United Nations children's agency UNICEF urged the world to stop turning a blind eye to the catastrophe sparked by the 10-month civil war.
"The consequences of the past 300 days means that more than 700,000 children are likely to suffer from the deadliest form of malnutrition this year," spokesman James Elder told reporters in Geneva.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
"We won't be able to treat more than 300,000 of them without improved access and additional support," said Elder, just back from a trip to Sudan.
"Tens of thousands will likely die."
The war that broke out in April last year between Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, his former deputy and commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, has already killed thousands, according to UN experts.
That includes 10,000 to 15,000 people killed in a single city in the western Darfur region, according to UN experts.
The conflict has sparked a humanitarian disaster.
Around 25 million people — more than half the population — need aid, including nearly 18 million who face acute food insecurity, according to UN numbers.
Soaring malnutrition, coupled with the rampant spread of diseases like cholera, measles and malaria, mean children are already dying.
ALSO READ:
The Doctors Without Borders charity (MSF) said at least one child dies every two hours in the sprawling Zamzam camp for displaced people in Darfur.
The war has triggered one of the world's largest displacement crises. Nearly eight million people have fled their homes, half of them children.
"That's 13,000 children every single day for 300 days," Elder pointed out.
He said there had also been a "500-per cent increase" in just one year in murders, sexual violence and recruitment of children to fight.
"That equates to terrifying numbers of children killed, raped or recruited. And these numbers are the tip of the iceberg," Elder said, reiterating the urgent need for a ceasefire, and for more aid.
The UN appealed this week for $4.1 billion to assist civilians inside Sudan and those who have fled abroad as refugees.
Of that, Unicef requested $840 million to help reach 7.6 million of the most vulnerable children.
Elder said three-quarters of the agency's appeal last year went unfunded and urged donors to do more.
"The world needs to stop turning a blind eye," he said.
"Where is our collective humanity if we allow this situation to continue?"
Due to the recent holidays to mark Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, students received extended leave, including for the heat alert
The journalist was detained for allegedly spreading "fake news" about the armed forces
Police said no one has yet claimed responsibility for the judge's abduction
More than 300 staff would stop working for four days at terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5
Authorities urged people to wear face masks and glasses when doing outdoor activities
The three-strong flotilla had been due to sail on Friday from ports in Turkey with more than 5,000 tonnes of aid on board
Cross-border shelling has killed at least 70 civilians, including children, rescue workers and journalists
Northeastern University in Boston says the action was taken after some protesters resorted to virulent anti-Semitic slurs