UNICEF reports thousands of children get displaced in DR Congo
Since December 1, intense clashes have forced over 500,000 people to flee their homes, with children accounting for more than 100,000 of the displaced in South Kivu province alone, the UN agency said in a statement Sunday. The violence has also resulted in hundreds of deaths, including children, with four students killed, six injured, and at least seven schools attacked or damaged since December 2.
The escalating conflict has prompted large-scale internal displacement as well as cross-border movements into neighboring countries, including Burundi and Rwanda. Between December 6 and 11, more than 50,000 people, nearly half of them children, arrived in Burundi, with UNICEF warning that the numbers are expected to grow further. “Children must never pay the price of conflict,” the agency emphasized.
The resurgence of violence is linked to advances by the M23 rebel group across multiple areas of South Kivu, despite the Congo-Rwanda agreement signed in Washington. The rebels currently control significant territories, including the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu, captured earlier this year.
The UN, Kinshasa, and other international observers have accused Rwanda of supporting M23, an allegation denied by Kigali. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Saturday that “Rwanda's actions in eastern DRC are a clear violation of the Washington Accords signed by President Trump,” warning that Washington “will take action to ensure promises made to the President are kept.”
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