Feature: Children, greatest victims of Sudan's war tragedy

South Sudanese displaced by conflict in Sudan are seen at the reception center in Renk County, Upper Nile State, South Sudan, on April 30, 2023. [Xinhua]

Having lost numerous family members over the past year due to the devastating conflict in Sudan, Muaz Noureddine, a 15-year-old boy living in the capital Khartoum, is one of the many children suffering the most from the war tragedy.

"I was buying food at a market when a violent shelling hit our house," Noureddine said with teary eyes while recalling the accident that killed his loved ones last September. "When I rushed towards the site of the explosion, I saw, through thick dust, my mother coming out from the house, screaming," the teenager said miserably.

Four of Noureddine's family members, including his younger brother and elder sister, died in the strike, another heavy blow to Noureddine, who lost his father four years ago.

More than eight months after the accident, the family is still struggling to get it over. "My mother is still in shock. She rarely sleeps, speaks, or eats," the boy said.

He noted that his mother was diagnosed with a mental illness due to the accident, but has been unable to receive psychological support and treatment, as specialized centers are not available under current circumstances.

Despite financial support from relatives outside Sudan, Noureddine and his family are suffering from food shortages with legumes as the only food, including beans and lentils.

The civil war has prevented Noureddine and millions of other Sudanese children from attending school and meeting friends, stolen their childhood, shattered their dreams, turned their lives upside down, and left them with irremediable scares.

"I lost my family members. My mother is sick. I think nothing worse can happen to us, as we have nothing left," the boy said with sadness and distress, lamenting, "We see no horizon for an end to this war."

On Friday, the UN Children's Fund, the World Health Organization and the World Food Programme said in a joint statement that child malnutrition in Sudan has reached an emergency level.

The statement indicated that in Central Darfur State, the rate of acute malnutrition is estimated to be 15.6 percent among children aged under five, while in the Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur State, the number is almost 30 percent.

According to UN estimates, Sudan is facing the largest child displacement crisis in the world, involving over 4 million children.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 15, 2023, which have killed 15,550 people and displaced over 8.8 million others so far, according to the latest estimates by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.