KINSHASA, Feb 3 (NNN-XINHUA) — More than 122,000 people are reported to have fled their homes in one day following escalating conflict in North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), leaving thousands of children vulnerable to abuse, according to a report released by a global charity.
Given that children comprise 53 percent of the DRC’s population, it is estimated that 65,000 children are displaced, according to a report by Save the Children, citing United Nations data.
Armed clashes from Jan 24 to Jan 25 between rebels of the March 23 Movement and the DRC Armed Forces in areas around Kitshanga, about 60 km west of the North Kivu capital Goma, have led to mass displacement, with the numbers likely to increase as the conflict continues to rage, according to the report.
In other areas of the eastern DRC, people are being killed and uprooted from their homes in an alarming wave of attacks against civilians.
More than 200 civilians have been killed by armed groups in Ituri province in the last six weeks, as 2,000 houses were destroyed and 80 schools closed or destroyed, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees said. Healthcare facilities were looted, making it increasingly difficult for people to access health care.
UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba denounced in late January that the situation for children in the eastern provinces of DRC has deteriorated “drastically” in recent months, urging “those responsible for atrocities” to be held accountable. — NNN-XINHUA
