Protection for the Children

In the Nuba Mountains, the SPLM (Sudan People's Liberation Movement – North) is attempting to establish its own state within Sudan. Their ultimate goal is to break away from Khartoum's control, as the Arab-dominated government is perceived as oppressive. This rejection is deeply rooted and based on a long history of repression, which ultimately led to the secession of South Sudan. However, the Nuba Mountains remain part of Sudan, and the SPLM-North continues to strive for independence from the central government.

The current civil war in Sudan is mainly being fought between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and rebel groups (RSF). About a year ago, the SPLM-North joined forces with the RSF – an alliance that complicates the current situation: This means that the SPLM-North is now also drawn into the conflict between the RSF and the SAF as a warring party. For this reason, the Nuba Mountains are now considered a legitimate military target for the Sudanese army.

At present, however, the Nuba Mountains are still on the edge of the war zone. At the end of October, the last stronghold of the SAF in the west of the country fell. As a result of the RSF's advance, atrocities such as ethnic cleansing and massacres of the civilian population took place there. Now the focus of the fighting is in central Sudan. However, it cannot be ruled out that the conflict will spread further south and that the fighting will also spill over into the Nuba Mountains. Recently, drone attacks killed 48 people less than 100 kilometers from our schools.

During a visit to one of our schools last year, we discovered drawings of tanks, rockets, and airplanes carved into the facade of the school building by the children. These images show how deeply the horrors of previous wars and conflicts have already penetrated the lives of these young minds. Our greatest wish is to protect the children so that the children of the Nuba Mountains do not have to relive this nightmare.