Viral Child Soldiers on TikTok: The 'Disney Stars' of Sudan's Civil War

Child soldiers linked to Sudan's warring factions have gained viral fame on TikTok, with their videos attracting millions of views. A Bellingcat investigation has found that the young boys – widely referred to as 'lion cubs' – have become celebrated figures of the rival groups that have been fighting for control of the country since 2023. Many of the videos reviewed show the children in military uniforms posing with fighters and senior officials from both sides of the conflict – the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). They are seen celebrating battlefield victories, delivering motivational speeches, and making violent threats. In some footage the children are armed. Child soldier experts told Bellingcat that the visibility and popularity of this content, which portrays fighting as normal, celebrated and aspirational, could lead to the recruitment of more young people in the conflict. Bellingcat flagged 12 TikTok accounts that had each posted viral content of child soldiers through the platform's internal reporting mechanism. After more than 48 hours without action, we emailed TikTok to request comment, providing links to the reported content.