Eastern Congo: 800 fleeing children separated from their families

Children in a camp in Kisoro

Photo: JAMES AKENA/ REUTERS

More than 800 children from eastern DRC have been separated from their families in recent months fleeing fighting.

This was reported by the International Red Cross (ICRC).

Since the end of March there have been armed clashes between government troops and the M-23 rebel militia in the district of Rutshuru in the troubled province of North Kivu.

The Congolese government has accused neighboring Rwanda of supporting the rebels.

Since the fighting began, around a thousand families have fled inside Kivu, while around 4,000 families have sought refuge in neighboring Uganda.

But not everyone reached the goal together, the ICRC reported.

54 children missing

'The fighting has caused panic.

Family members lost contact with each other while fleeing,” said Pamela Ongoma, director of the ICRC's family reunification program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

So far, 716 unaccompanied children have been registered in Uganda, and 155 have been reunited with relatives in a transition center.

Unaccompanied children have so far been identified in Congo, but 54 children are still missing, their whereabouts are unknown.

sak/dpa