UNICEF reports at least 12 children killed in West Kordofan and Khartoum states of Sudan

25 October 2026

UNICEF has reported that at least 12 children, some as young as two, were killed in two separate incidents in Sudan's West Kordofan and Khartoum states. On 17 October 2026, at least nine children, five boys and four girls aged 5 to 10, were killed in an attack on a camp for displaced families east of Sanakit in West Kordofan State. On 19 October 2026, an armed drone struck a residential area in Khartoum, killing three children aged 2 to 6 and their father. Angela Kearney, UNICEF Acting Representative in Sudan, said the families had sought safety by fleeing or returning home and that neither was protecting the children. The statement notes more than three years of conflict in Sudan and calls on all parties to comply with international humanitarian law and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.