DRC violence displaces 78,000 children, families ripped apart

According to SCI in a statement made available to Vanguard, at least 78,000 children have flee their homes in the past week, with thousands now on the road to Goma, following renewed fighting between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and M23, a non-state armed group, has displaced at least 150,000 people, more than half of them children, since 2 February.

The statement reads in part, “Parents have reported that many children have been separated in the violence, although the number of lost children is unknown. 

“Families are seeking refuge in displacement camps, churches, schools and with host families, with thousands now on the road looking for safety in Goma, the province’s capital. 

“According to local media sources, 19 people have been killed and 27 others injured in the violence, including three young girls. A market was hit on 7 February, and munitions also landed inside a school courtyard and close to a hospital. All schools in the area remain closed.  

According to Alicia, who works at a Save the Children partner school in North Kivu, recounted the events on 2 February: “It was last Friday around 5 p.m. that we heard bullets. Everyone fled in their own direction. 

“Some children were even lost and have not yet been found. Many parents are crying about the disappearance of their children, but the number of children lost is not yet known. 

“The road was cut off. Shops were looted. Schools have been closed and children are no longer studying. In addition, we are not going to return unless the situation improves.”  

The Country Director, Save the Children, DRC, Greg Ramm, said: “Children in eastern DRC are living through yet another nightmare. Abrupt violence on the weekend has separated children from their families and forcibly torn them away from their homes. 

With input from agencies