DRC: concerns for displaced children from Maï-Ndombe

Nearly 300 children arrived alone in the flood of displaced people from Maï-Ndombe, September 2022, DRC.

(Illustrative image) AFP - ARSENE MPIANA

Text by: Paulina Zidi Follow

1 min

The conflict continues in Mai-Ndombe, a DRC province near the capital, Kinshasa.

Civil society in Kwamouth, where the violence began, evokes new bodies found on Tuesday, September 13, 2022, without being able to give a precise assessment.

A situation that has caused population movements to neighboring regions.

Among the displaced, local organizations mention the case of unaccompanied children.

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They are almost 300 identified only in Kwango, a neighboring province of Maï-Ndombe which hosts displaced people, according to figures from civil society.

Children who have arrived

without parents by their side.

According to the testimonies collected, some were lost during their flight, others saw their families killed during the violence.

A situation that worries Lucien Lufutu, the president of the Kwango civil society consultation framework: “ 

.

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Use in conflict

Lucien Lufutu issues a cry of alarm to the government and the humanitarian organizations to have the means to take care of these children.

Most have been placed with foster families.

A minority have been able to find relatives.

But civil society in Kwango now says it is overwhelmed by the management of these children who continue to arrive every day.

A message heard by UNICEF in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Kinshasa office of the UN organization says it is working on a global response.

She also shared another concern about the situation in Maï-Ndombe: the use of children in the conflict.

►Also read: DRC: security situation still difficult in Maï-Ndombe

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