UNICEF: 150,000 children have been displaced from Gezira State in Sudan due to escalating violence

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced that more than 150,000 children were displaced within days from Gezira State in Sudan and were cut off from urgent humanitarian aid due to the escalation of violence there.

A statement issued by UNICEF today said that the outbreak of fighting on the island means that more than half of Sudan’s states, 10 out of 18 states, are witnessing conflict.

An estimated 5.9 million people live in Gezira State, nearly half of whom are children - according to UNICEF.

Al-Jazira State was housing about 500,000 displaced people who fled violence elsewhere in the country to the island, and about 90,000 of them took refuge in the state’s capital, “Wad Madani,” according to United Nations estimates.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said that tens of thousands of children in Gezira State were forced to flee their homes in search of safety with the outbreak of fighting in areas that were previously considered “relatively safe.”

“This new wave of violence could leave children and families trapped between battle lines or caught in the crossfire, with devastating consequences,” Catherine added.

The UN official pointed to reports of renewed fighting elsewhere in the country, warning that "millions of children in Sudan are once again exposed to grave danger."

Tunisian Foreign Minister: We hope that President Putin will accept our invitation and visit our country

Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar expressed his country's hope that Russian President Vladimir Putin would answer Tunisia's invitation and visit it.

He said in an interview with the "Novosti" agency: "An invitation was extended to Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Tunisia, and our president, for his part, welcomes his visit to Russia. It is only necessary to mention that the invitation is addressed to the Russian president, and we will be happy that he accepts it."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Tunisia on Wednesday evening, where he is scheduled to hold a number of meetings with officials there on Thursday.

Lavrov arrived from Morocco, where he participated in a meeting of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum.

It is noteworthy that the last time Lavrov visited Tunisia was in 2019.