UNICEF says 150,000 children out of school due to rebel violence in Congo

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Friday that  150,000 children are not attending school due to ongoing clashes between militias and security forces in Central Congo.

UNICEF in a report, estimated that more than one in ten children of primary-school age in the region had their schooling interrupted as a result of the violence, which has been raging since August 2016.

Accordong to UNICEF, no fewer than 600 schools have been damaged by attacks.

Other schools are being used as emergency shelter for families displaced by violence or whose areas have been occupied by rebel groups.

In May, UNICEF warned that the fighting had left about 400,000 children at risk of severe acute malnutrition, while families displaced by violence had been left without adequate sanitation or healthcare.

Security forces in Kasai are fighting the Kamwina Nsapu militia, which seeks the removal of central government presence from the area.

The killing of the traditional chief who was head of the militia in August 2016 saw the violence escalate and spread to five provinces.

Offshoots of the Kamwina Nsapu and ethnically based militias are also involved in the fighting.

According to the police and UN figures, about 1,000 militiamen, security force members and civilians have been killed in the conflict.

Nearly 1.3 million people have been displaced.