DR CONGO: ‘375,000 children missing school’

Around 375,000 children in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s war-ravaged North Kivu province are missing out on education and are vulnerable to violence and recruitment by armed groups, Save the Children said Thursday. The charity said about 17 per cent of schools are closed in the eastern province, where Rwanda-backed M23 fighters have been seizing […]

Around 375,000 children in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s war-ravaged North Kivu province are missing out on education and are vulnerable to violence and recruitment by armed groups, Save the Children said Thursday.

The charity said about 17 per cent of schools are closed in the eastern province, where Rwanda-backed M23 fighters have been seizing swathes of territory since resurfacing in 2021.

“The situation is catastrophic,” Greg Ramm, Save the Children’s DRC director said.

“Children are being denied their fundamental right to education, and the long-term consequences for their future and the future of the country are dire,” Ramm added.

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As part of a lightning offensive the M23 seized North Kivu’s major city Goma at the end of January, moving to capture South Kivu capital Bukavu in February, in an area plagued by decades of regional wars.

Goma and Bukavu have populations of around one million people each.