Schoolchildren killed and injured in Sudan crossfire

In the Sudanese city of El Obeid, the war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has taken a devastating toll on children. A drone strike on a fuel tanker outside a school reverberated through the building and killed a year 8 schoolgirl. The glass from the strike still lies scattered in the schoolyard. Multiple schools across the city have been damaged since the war began in 2023, either from direct strikes or nearby attacks, and yet many students still attend classes. More than eight million children across Sudan are out of education.

Aid workers report that children as young as six have been victims of sexual violence by RSF members. One teenager told Sky News she was gang raped at 18 by RSF soldiers who control her town. Another girl, Mesa, was in her final year of secondary school when an RSF shell hit the building and killed her classmates. Her brother Ibrahim joined the military three months ago; his mother says he is only 17. He said: "If you stay home, you die. If you go and fight, you die. So better to enlist and die."

In a women's dormitory turned displacement camp, children are being led in playtime. Ten-year-old Ali cannot play because a shrapnel injury in his leg means he cannot walk. His mother brought him to El Obeid for treatment, leaving six older children behind in their frontline hometown. The camp has been hit by a missile too, and families live within shrapnel-marked walls. Every room houses families reckoning with their new circumstances. Three children are born into Sudan's war every minute, and every minute conditions become more unbearable.

Despite the constant danger, families who can afford it send their children to school, seeking a sense of normalcy. The city is full of children doing adult jobs, selling fuel on the roadside or bicycles in the market, while the lucky ones enjoy a game of football. But the sense of normalcy is shattered by the drones circling overhead, and cars are tucked under trees to avoid them.

In the embattled city, the Catholic cathedral of Our Lady Queen of Africa stands between a mosque, military barracks and a national security building. At the base of its highest tower, a headless statue of Mary embodies the desecration of the war. The vicar general said: "In the Catholic Church we always support peace and pray in the name of peace." The Pope addressed pilgrims on the same Sunday, expressing concern for Sudan and renewing his appeal for humanitarian corridors for civilians. A priest was killed in the Nuba Mountains three months ago, and the cathedral itself has been marked by bullets and shrapnel. Parishioners, many displaced, gather for mass, holding onto faith as a source of strength. One said: "My house collapsed at the start of the war and I was taken to a school shelter. Thieves then looted my house and tore it apart. I now don't have a home. My home is in the sand."