Children as young as 1 are being raped and sexually assaulted by armed forces in Sudan, according to a new report by UNICEF.

The United Nations children’s agency has revealed armed men are sexually assaulting and raping children as young as toddlers in Sudan's civil war.

The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced more than 12 million and cut off crucial supply routes across the country.

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,

Sudan's civil war has intensified due to external arms flows, leading to growing discussions about a potential partition of the country.

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,

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.

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

Unicef said the scale of child rape in war-ravaged Sudan was far more widespread than just the documented cases and urged all sides to end sexual violence as a war tactic.