BELGIUM: Children face DNA tests amid DR Congo kidnap fears
Belgian authorities have asked for DNA samples of children adopted from the Democratic Republic of Congo to establish if their biological parents are still alive, reports say. They have contacted the adoptive parents of some 15 children to find out if the youngsters were kidnapped, according to Belgian newspapers. Prosecutors suspect the parents thought they […]
BELGIUM: Children face DNA tests amid DR Congo kidnap fears
Belgian authorities have asked for DNA samples of children adopted from the Democratic Republic of Congo to establish if their biological parents are still alive, reports say.
They have contacted the adoptive parents of some 15 children to find out if the youngsters were kidnapped, according to Belgian newspapers.
Prosecutors suspect the parents thought they were sending their children to a Kinshasa holiday camp not an orphanage.
The orphanage has since been shut down.
Thousands of African children have been adopted in recent years from countries including Ethiopia and Uganda.
Fears of child-smuggling in DR Congo prompted the central African country to halt exit permits for adopted children in 2013. Some cases continued to go through because they had already begun.