Armed forces in Sudan’s civil war are perpetrating systematic sexual violence against young children, with one-year-olds the youngest survivors of rape, according to a new report from UNICEF, the United Nations’ (UN) children’s agency.

Some of the survivors cited by UNICEF say they fell pregnant as a result of the assaults, resulting in rejection by relatives and additional hardships. One woman who was held in captivity with other women and girls was quoted saying,

Warning: This article contains details of sexual violence that some people may find distressing Armed men are raping and sexually assaulting children as young as one during Sudan's civil war, says the UN children's agency,

A database compiled by Sudan-based groups aiding sexual violence survivours recorded 221 child cases since last year, the UN agency reported.

The U.N. children’s agency says children in conflict-ravaged Sudan as young as a year old have been raped since the beginning of 2024 and that sexual violence is being used as a tactic of war