The security condition in Sudan has deteriorated after the war between the military and its rival paramilitary, Rapid Support Forces, broke out in 2021.
In what comes as a shocking revelation, children as young as a year old have been raped since the beginning of 2024 in South Sudan, with sexual violence being used as a tactic of war, the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, said. According to UNICEF, around 221 children, including boys, were raped by armed men, reports compiled by gender-based violence service providers in the North African nation claim.
Background of the war in Sudan
The war between the military and its rival paramilitary, Rapid Support Forces, broke out in 2021 in Sudan. The battles have taken place in Khartoum and around the country.
More than 20,000 people are reported to have lost their lives, while the war has driven more than 14 million people from their homes and pushed parts of the country into famine.
What does UNICEF report claim?
According to human rights groups, atrocities, including sexual violence and forced child marriages, have been committed by both sides. According to a UNICEF report that came out last month, 61,800 children have been internally displaced. On Tuesday, the agency reported documented cases involving children who were raped during attacks on cities.
According to the latest report, more than 30% of the child rape victims were boys. The victims include 16 children under the age of 5 and four infants.
The cases were reported in the states of Gedaref, Kassala, Gezeira, Khartoum, River Nile, Northern State, South Kordofan, North Darfur, and West Darfur.
Of the 221 children raped, 73 cases were conflict-related and 71 were not, while the others were unidentified, Tess Ingram, a spokesperson with UNICEF, told The Associated Press.
Survivors give their personal accounts
Survivors are often reluctant to report that they were subject to sexual violence due to social stigma and fear of retribution from armed groups and rejection from family.
A girl from Omdurman who gave recorded testimony to UNICEF, which was shared with AP, said she moved multiple times looking for shelters as some displacement centres would turn her away after learning that she got pregnant by her rapist.
(With inputs from AP)
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