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WORLD NEWS Monday 18 SepteMber 2017

Children flee, fight amid Congo’s growing Kasai violence

ther recruited by militias they took a machete and in the Kasai region could
or to defend their homes. hit me three times on the not complete their school-
Children make up more chest. Next they gave me ing last year, largely due
than half of the displaced plastic bags to swallow, to the violence and inse-
people, said Yvon Edou- saying that if I concentrate curity, UNICEF says. It has
mou, spokesman for the on something, I can be- launched a campaign
U.N. humanitarian office in come it,” he said. “After to get 150,000 children
Congo. that, they hurt me all over back into school.Another
“We see families who say to show that even if I am boy, 16-year-old Edouard,
they are fleeing because attacked, I can’t be hurt. was taking exams when
militias were going into In the end, they gave me the fighting reached his
their villages, and most a knife and stick to go and hometown. His school
of the time we have one fight.”He said he decided is among the 400 that
mother and two to four to leave “because prom- UNICEF says have been
young kids, even toddlers ises weren’t kept. Also, lots attacked.“There was the
and babies in their arms,” of people had been killed.” noise of gunfire. We had
Edoumou said. “The men The boy wants to return to never experienced that in
In this Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017 photo made available by UNI- are almost nowhere to be his family and go to school our lives. When we heard
CEF, a boy displays a scar from a tracer bullet in Mbuji Mayi, seen. So children are tak- but faces the risk of stigma it for the first time, we were
Kasai province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Congo’s ing a very heavy toll from and violent reprisals. scared and we ran,” he
Kasai region is the latest deadly hotspot in the vast Central Afri- all this violence.”Children About 440,000 children told the agency.q
can country that has seen violent rebellions for decades. Once
again, children are among the most vulnerable victims. in the Kasai region are be-
(Patrick Rose/UNICEF via AP) ing forced to endure hor-
rific ordeals such as abuse
By CARLEY PETESCH began a year ago when and recruitment into mi-
Associated Press Congo’s military killed the litia groups, the U.N. chil-
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — regional tribal leader of dren’s agency says, with
Congo’s Kasai region is the the Kamwina Nsapu militia. more than 850,000 left
latest deadly hotspot in the More than 3,300 people in without basic services.
vast Central African coun- the region have died, ac- One 12-year-old told the
try that has had violent re- cording to estimates by the agency he escaped from
bellions for decades. Once Catholic church. The Unit- a militia group where he
again, children are among ed Nations has counted was a combatant. Now in
the most vulnerable vic- more than 80 mass graves. a U.N.-backed safe house,
tims. Across the once-peaceful he is trying to deal with the
Well over 1 million people region, children are forced trauma.“I was given things
have fled the fighting that to take up weapons, ei- to swallow. Afterwards,
Kenya opposition urges electoral reform

By TOM ODULA new election ordered by main in place, “claiming
Associated Press the Supreme Court when readiness to conduct an-
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — it nullified President Uhuru other election,” Odinga
Kenya’s opposition leader Kenyatta’s re-election in told thousands of support-
Raila Odinga Sunday said August. ers at a rally.
the coalition he leads will One of the reforms he “We are ready to go for
hold nationwide cam- wants is the removal of a elections, even tomorrow,
paigns to urge reforms of dozen top officials he ac- but we will not go to elec-
the electoral commission cuses of electoral fraud. tions with a compromised
before the fresh presiden- The electoral commission electoral commission,”
tial elections next month. has set Oct 17 for the re- Odinga said. Odinga ac-
Odinga has maintained peat election. cused the electoral com-
that the electoral commis- Those who perpetrated il- mission of working with Ke-
sion must be reformed or legalities and irregularities nyatta’s Jubilee party to rig
he will not participate in the in the nullified election re- the elections. q