In pics: Powerful tribute to 700 children who flee South Sudan each week laid at St Paul's Cathedral

Ashlyn, 11, from Canada looks at 700 teddy bears, which have been placed on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral in London (Matt Crossick/PA Wire)

700 teddy bears have been placed on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral in London by international aid agency World Vision UK to represent the 700 children per week that flee conflict in South Sudan by crossing the border into Uganda.

Uganda’s vast refugee settlements, including Bidi Bidi, the world’s largest, are providing sanctuary to over half a million boys and girls fleeing the brutal civil war in South Sudan.

Volunteer Jyoti Metla helps lay out 700 teddy bears on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral in London (Matt Crossick/PA Wire)

Now only six years old, South Sudan (northeastern Africa) is the youngest and most fragile state in the world. Civil war, which broke out in December 2013, has meant torture, rape and mass-slaughter.