UNICEF: Children as young as 7 are being killed, abducted in South Sudan

In South Sudan, children are being killed, kidnapped, and raped as fighting intensifies between government and rebel forces, UNICEF reports.

Survivors of the violence in Unity State told UNICEF that villages are being burned down, women and girls as young as 7 are being killed and raped, and children are being abducted to become fighters or to tend to stolen cattle. They also said they believe the attacks are being carried out by groups linked to the military. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, and fighting broke out in December 2013, when President Salva Kiir accused deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup.

In recent weeks, there has been an increase in fighting, and 100,000 people have been displaced. The Red Cross is also warning that there could be a major food shortage, since the fighting is taking place during the country's planting period. "The upheaval will no doubt negatively impact residents' ability to plant food that would be used to feed their families next harvest season," the organization said in a statement.

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