Two brothers injured in airstrike in Sudan feature in animated film on risks of explosive weapons

Country: Sudan Source: Save the Children PORT SUDAN/LONDON, 15 April 2026 – Two brothers severely injured in an airstrike as they were playing football are the focus of an animated film released by Save the Children on the third anniversary of the conflict in Sudan. The short film, 'Walk Twice’, exposes the growing and long-term danger children face as bombs and drones increasingly strike populated areas, hitting schools, homes, and hospitals - places that should be safe under international humanitarian law. Humanitarian organisations including Save the Children have warned of the risks children face in communities across Sudan from explosive weapons and also from unexploded remnants of war as families begin to return home to areas where active fighting has subsided. While media reports regularly spotlight such incidents, the exact number of civilians killed and injured in Sudan by explosive weapons is impossible to ascertain due to ongoing conflict and a crippled health system, with many facilities unable to treat casualties or record injuries. The UN Mine Action Service has warned that unexploded ordnance is now strewn across the country, having recorded more than 9,800 conflict events between April 2023 and December 2025. So far over 10,244 explosive ordnance items, including mines, unexploded items and small arms munitions, have been removed from schools, universities, roads, critical infrastructure and even homes across Sudan. The film, narrated by British Sudanese comedian Ola Labib, is a two-minute animation inspired by the story of brothers, Ali*, 13, and Nour*, 10, who were playing football outside their home in Khartoum when there was an airstrike nearby. Ali* lost his leg instantly, while Nour* suffered severe injuries that left him paralysed. The film follows the desperate journey by the boys and their mother across Sudan, seeking treatment amid collapsing a health system, with 80% of hospitals non-functioning, and ongoing insecurity making travel dangerous and unpredictable. Eventually reaching a camp for displaced people in Gedaref in eastern Sudan, the film also captures the hope and quiet resilience of children affected by blast injuries. Save the Children provided the family with essential supplies, psychosocial support and mobility aids including an electric wheelchair for Ali*. The child rights organisation is supporting children with blast injuries across Sudan, covering the costs of their treatment as well as psychosocial care. Ali*, 13, said: “When Save the Children came and gave me this wheelchair, my self-confidence grew. It motivated me not to give up, and it made me think that the future is worth pursuing and that nothing is impossible.” The film’s narrator, British Sudanese comedian, writer and actress Ola Labib said: “Stories like Ali*’s are devastating and as world leaders continue to flout international law, we risk seeing more children injured and suffering in this way. “Ali*’s story really hit home for me. I lost my second cousin during the war in Sudan - he was around the same age as the brothers. Not everyone has that personal connection, but empathy shouldn’t depend on personal experience. “Any child lost or injured to war is one too many. This must never be something we just accept. It must never become normal.” While focused on the conflict in Sudan, the film also highlights the growing threat of explosive weapons to children in wars around the world, including Gaza and Ukraine. A recent report by Save the Children revealed that explosive weapons are now killing children on a scale never seen before, with more than 60% of child casualties in war zones now coming from explosive weapons. Between 2020 and 2024, nearly 50,000 children became casualties of war - the equivalent of 200 full passenger planes. Children are far more vulnerable to explosive weapons than adults as their smaller bodies and developing organs mean even a single blast can cause catastrophic injuries or death. Save the Children is calling on governments to urgently protect children in Sudan, including by pressing all parties to the conflict and their international backers to end the violence, respect international law, clear unexploded ordnance and ensure accountability for grave violations against children**.** Mohamed Abdiladif, Save the Children’s Country Director in Sudan, said: “Children in Sudan are paying an unbearable price for this conflict - not only during active fighting with an unknown number of deaths and injuries from explosive weapons, but long after, as unexploded bombs turn homes, neighbourhoods and playgrounds into deadly traps. “No child should lose a limb, their mobility or their future just for playing outside their home. Yet every day we see children injured by weapons that should never have been used in populated areas in the first place. “As families return home, the risks are growing. Unless urgent action is taken to clear explosive remnants of war and protect civilians, more ch

Read More