The number of 'grave violations against children' in the conflict-racked country is estimated to be more than 1,700 for the first half of 2023, said UNICEF, the UN children's agency - which marks a 41% increase on the same period last year.
KINSHASA - The Democratic Republic of Congo is on track to see record numbers of children killed, maimed, kidnapped, or sexually assaulted in 2023 for the third consecutive year, the United Nations said on Saturday.
The agency puts the increased number down to "intensifying violence, massive displacement, and proximity of armed groups to communities... leading to an alarming increase in cases of killing, maiming, and abduction of children".The number of children recruited and used by armed groups increased by 45% in the first six months of the year to around 1,100, while more than 400 children were killed or mutilated in that period.
"I met children who survived the horrors of recruitment and use by armed groups and the unspeakable trauma of sexual violence - atrocities that no-one should experience, let alone children," said Sheema Sen Gupta, the director of child protection at UNICEF, during a week-long mission to the DRC.
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