More than 200 children raped in Sudan since beginning of 2024: UN

Cairo: Children in conflict-ravaged Sudan as young as a year old have been raped since the beginning of 2024, according to the UN children’s agency Tuesday, which said sexual violence is being used as a tactic of war. UNICEF said 221 children, including boys, were raped by armed men, according to records compiled by gender-based violence service providers in the North African nation.

The war in Sudan broke out in April 2023 between the military and its rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces with battles in Khartoum and around the country. Since then, at least 20,000 people have been killed, though the number is likely far higher. The war has driven more than 14 million people from their homes and pushed parts of the country into famine.

Right groups say that atrocities, including sexual violence and forced child marriages, have been committed by

both sides. An estimated 61,800 children have been

internally displaced since the war began, UNICEF said last month. On Tuesday, the agency reported documented

cases involving children who were raped during attacks on cities.