The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has warned that the drone attacks carried out on September 20 in the Sudanese town of Shikan, in North Kordofan state, have destroyed more than 330,000 educational resources that were to be distributed in schools for the new school year.
Among the destroyed material are more than 292,000 textbooks and around 40,000 copies intended for the reinforcement of Arabic language and mathematics, in addition to other pedagogical resources. Their delivery was scheduled to begin in October 2026, coinciding with the start of the school year.
These supplies were directed, among other destinations, to the educational centers of Bara Oeste, Bara, and Um Dam, so their disappearance puts at risk access to learning tools for thousands of boys and girls in a region that already suffers serious difficulties in ensuring educational continuity due to the conflict.
In this context, UNICEF's representative in Sudan, Angela Kearney, has emphasized the impact that the destruction of school materials will have. "It represents a setback for children at a time when everything is being done to get them back to classrooms," she lamented.
Kearney has also pointed out that many minors have had their education interrupted by war for years and has stressed that schools are already facing a severe lack of teachers, desks, and basic supplies. The loss of these stored resources, she added, threatens to further exacerbate the difficulties in ensuring quality education. "All boys and girls have the right to education, and that right must be protected," she asserted.
The very distribution of school materials in the violence-affected areas of Sudan is in itself a complicated task, and the destruction of these batches represents a new obstacle for children to have adequate spaces and tools for their education.
UNICEF insists that keeping learning opportunities open in safe environments is essential not only for children to continue their studies but also to support their recovery after the conflict and offer them future options.
In light of this scenario, the organization has urged all warring parties to respect and protect the civilian population and non-military infrastructure, in accordance with the obligations set forth by International Humanitarian Law.
In the same line, the United Nations agency has demanded that both educational centers and materials intended for teaching be safeguarded, in order that minors can fully exercise their right to education despite the situation of violence that the country is going through.