U.N. reports children as young as one raped amid Sudan’s civil war
Damage from clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum. Osman Bakir / Anadolu via Getty Images
A harrowing new report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that children as young as one are being raped and sexually assaulted by armed forces in Sudan, where nearly two years of brutal civil war have devastated the nation.
The report, the first comprehensive account of mass sexual violence being used as a weapon of war against children, documented over 200 cases of child rape since early last year. However, UNICEF officials stress that these figures represent only a fraction of the actual cases.
“Children as young as one being raped by armed men should shock anyone to their core and compel immediate action,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell declared on Monday. She condemned the atrocities as “an abhorrent violation of international law” that “must stop.”
Among the reported cases, four victims were just one year old, while another 16 were under the age of five. The report further detailed that 66% of the victims were girls and 33% were boys. Alarmingly, child rights violations increased by 16% in 2024 compared to 2023, which had already seen a staggering 473% rise from 2022, when the conflict first erupted.
One survivor, Omnia, recounted the horrors she witnessed: “After nine at night, someone opens the door, carrying a whip, selects one of the girls, and takes her to another room. I could hear the little girl crying and screaming. They were raping her.”
The devastating conflict, fueled by a power struggle between Sudan’s armed forces, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has left more than 30 million people in desperate need of humanitarian aid.
A U.N. fact-finding mission in October determined that the RSF had engaged in widespread sexual violence in its controlled territories, including gang rapes, abductions, and sexual slavery. The U.S. further accused the RSF of genocide in January.
With limited access to medical and psychological support, survivors—especially women and children—are fleeing to other cities, only to face continued threats of sexual violence.
“Widespread sexual violence in Sudan has instilled terror in people, especially children,” Russell warned, urging all parties to cease these horrific violations. “These scars of war are immeasurable and long-lasting.”
