The war in Sudan

Gum Arabic is being smuggled out – affecting big companies

Gum Arabic, a key ingredient in Coca-Cola, candy and lipstick, is increasingly being smuggled out of war-torn Sudan. This is making it more difficult for Western companies to get hold of the product, sources told Reuters.

The rebel group RSF has taken control of the rubber-producing regions in the western parts of the country during the war against the Sudanese army. Since then, the rubber has been disappearing from the area without proper markings. In addition, RSF charges fees when the rubber is to pass through certain places.

– All talk of breaking the law is propaganda, says a representative for RSF, who believes that only small fees are charged.

Neighboring countries in the so-called rubber belt also export the raw material, but Sudan's rich harvests of acacia trees mean that the country accounts for 80 percent of the world's production.

Shocking UN report on Sudan: Infants are being raped

Children in Sudan are being affected by the country's civil war in an almost indescribable brutality. This is according to a new report from Unicef ​​that the BBC has seen.

Since the war broke out, 221 rapes of children have been reported, but according to the children's rights organization, the number of unreported cases is very large. A third of the victims in the reported cases are boys. According to Unicef, they have greater resistance both to reporting abuse and to seeking help.

One of the most shocking details is that 16 of the victims were under the age of five. Four of them were infants.

According to other UN investigations, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are behind the abuses. The group is said to be using sexual violence to terrorize the civilian population.

UNICEF chief: It is abhorrent - must end

UNICEF chief Catherine Russell says the findings in the UN agency's new report on child abuse in Sudan should shock "anyone". The BBC reports.

- Millions of children in Sudan are at risk of being subjected to rape and other sexual violence. This is an abhorrent violation of international law and may constitute a war crime. It must end, she says.

Since the war broke out, 221 rapes of children have been reported but according to the children's rights organization, the number of unreported cases is very large.