UNICEF demands release of kidnapped children in DR Congo
| Publisher | UN News Service |
| Publication Date | 22 September 2008 |
| Cite as | UN News Service, UNICEF demands release of kidnapped children in DR Congo, 22 September 2008, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/48ec79ead.html [accessed 31 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) today called for the immediate, unconditional release of 90 pupils who were abducted from their schools in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by members of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
The LRA took 50 children from a primary school in Kiliwa and 40 others from a secondary school in Duru as part of a series of simultaneous attacks last Wednesday on three villages in the DRC's Orientale province.
Local authorities believe the kidnapped children have been taken to nearby LRA bases in the forest, according to a UNICEF press release issued today.
Julien Harneis, the chief of field operations for UNICEF in the eastern DRC, called for the release of the children without any preconditions.
"UNICEF is very concerned that they will now be forced to fight or support fighting, putting their lives at risk
