Over 500 children withdrawn from Katanga Group

Some 557 children recruited by armed groups operating in the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were withdrawn from the groups between March and August this year, according to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) information officer Sylvester Ntumba Mudingayi.

He said the children left the groups, which are active mainly in the territories of Malemba-Nkulu, Manono, Mitwaba and Pweto, following an awareness raising campaign against the involvement of children in armed conflict.

The OCHA official said 444 of the children were at the transit centres of Malemba-Nkulu, Manono, Mitwaba and Pweto, while 113 others have been reunited with their families.

According to the UN Children’s Fund, 1,500 children have been recruited by rebel groups active in the Katanga province.