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10 000 child soldiers in DRC
06/06/2003 21:55 - (SA)
Geneva - Between 8 000 and 10 000 children are serving as soldiers in the strife-torn Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), an official of the United Nations children's agency said Friday.
Gianfranco Rotigliano, representing Unicef in the vast central African state, spoke as French soldiers arrived in the Ituri town of Bunia, paving the way for an international peacekeeping force.
"We think that there are between 8 000 10 000 child-soldiers in Ituri," Rotigliano told journalists here, explaining it was particularly easy for warring ethnic factions in the restless eastern region to recruit youngsters because most were no longer attending school due to renewed violence.
Outside the main town Bunia there were about four or five million inaccessible people.
"Most of the population of Ituri need help," said Rotigliano, just returned from Bunia.
"While the (peace) force is creating a secure environment (in Bunia), there should be possibilities for us to access populations," he said.
Unicef is providing assistance to some 3 000 families in Bunia.
Robust diplomatic action
Describing the situation on the ground, he said: "There have been several cases of skirmishes, of real fighting in several villages, but that is something that we just hear, we have no way to go there."
The UN peacekeeper force Monuc was likewise unable to reach worst-hit areas.
Although Monuc has 700 troops in Bunia, the mission is not considered well enough armed or endowed with a strong enough mandate to protect Ituri's civilians from inter-ethnic violence that has claimed hundreds of lives in recent weeks and some 50 000 lives since 1999.
"Separating all the warrying factions is something that goes beyond any reasonable dream that we may have today," Rotigliano warned:
"This would need tens of thousands of soldiers that are simply not available."
"What we are looking for is strong, robust diplomatic action to encourage the peace process in Ituri by intervening with all ... parties, and that may generate access to the rest of the province," the UN official said.
Rotigliano complained that only 12% of the $45m requested by Unicef for the DRC at the end of last year had been made available.
Serious crisis
Only 18.5% of $269m requested by various agencies for the DRC for this year had so far been allotted, and the DRC was at the bottom of the list of countries given assistance by the international community.
"The interest is by far too little for a country that on the contrary has done a lot to come out of a serious crisis and that has enormous potential," the official said.
"Even the World Bank is not able to find the money they need to have a basic start there in their projects."
Meanwhile, a new UN report here said appeals to the international community for funds for relief aid for the DRC and the west African state of Liberia had met with a particularly poor response.
The UN appealed in November for $3bn this year to cope with crises in 20 countries and regions.
"Six months after the launch we have received only a third of the requested sums," said Elisabeth Byrs, spokesperson for the UN coordinating bureau for humanitarian affairs.
"The main focus of non-financing was the DRC which has so far received only 18.5% and Liberia with 20.1%," she said. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA
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