More than 300 children have been killed or injured in Sudan over the past six months, with most of the casualties caused by drone strikes, the UN children's agency UNICEF said Monday.

Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when fighting broke out between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

According to UNICEF, the fighting is now mainly focused in the Kordofan, Darfur and Blue Nile states, where drone attacks account for around 60 percent of child casualties.

The United Nations, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries have raised concerns over the risk of further atrocities as the Sudanese military and the RSF battle for control of the strategic city of el-Obeid in North Kordofan.

The war has killed at least 59,000 people, forced around 13 million people from their homes and pushed large parts of Sudan into famine. More than 30 million people now require humanitarian assistance.

UNICEF said drone strikes and artillery shelling have damaged civilian infrastructure, including schools, markets, fuel depots and water facilities, putting more than 500,000 people at risk. Many civilians have also endured conditions resembling a prolonged siege for more than a year.

"Children are being caught in a relentless cycle of violence, displacement and deprivation," said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF's representative in Sudan.

The UN urged all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, ensure safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access, and take every possible measure to keep children out of harm's way.