Kasai children face militia recruitment

More than half of the people displaced by the fighting in Congo’s restive areas are traumatised children

Congo’s Kasai region is the latest deadly hot spot in the vast Central African country that has had violent rebellions for decades. Once again, children are among the most vulnerable victims.

More than one million people have fled the fighting that began a year ago when Congo’s military killed the regional tribal leader of the Kamwina Nsapu militia. More than 3,300 people in the region have died, according to estimates by the Catholic church. The United Nations (UN) has counted more than 80 mass graves.

Across the once-peaceful region, children are forced to take up weapons, either recruited by militias or to defend their homes. Children make up more than half of the displaced people, said Yvon Edoumou, spokesman for the UN humanitarian office in Congo.

“We see families who say they are fleeing because militias were going into their villages, and most of the time we have one mother and two to four young kids, even toddlers and babies in their arms,” Edoumou said. “The men are almost nowhere to be seen. So children are taking a very heavy toll from all this violence.”

Dealing with PTSD

Children in the Kasai region are being forced to endure horrific ordeals such as abuse and recruitment into militia groups, the UN children’s agency says, with more than 850,000 left without basic services.

The biggest needs are water, food and medicine, Edoumou said. But funding is low. A $64.5 million (Dh236 million) UN request for support is not even halfway funded, he said.