Crisis in Congo: UNICEF raises alarm on child rape cases

The UNICEF on Friday April 11,2025, raised alarm over the rape and sexual abuse of thousands of children in eastern Congo within just two months.

The UN children’s agency revealed that armed groups raped and abused nearly 10,000 people between January and February 2025.

UNICEF said children accounted for 35 to 45 percent of those brutal attacks in the conflict-torn region.

James Elder, UNICEF spokesperson, told journalists in Geneva on Friday that the situation had reached crisis levels.

He said, “Armed groups raped a child every 30 minutes, based on the latest available data from the region.”

UNICEF warned that massive funding shortfalls now threaten its ability to protect hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children.

Elder said the agency would lose critical services for 250,000 children if it fails to close the funding gap.

He added, “We have only 12 weeks to secure enough funding before major humanitarian operations shut down.”

Elder described the violence as systematic, widespread, and part of a deliberate war tactic to instill fear and terror.

He said armed groups use rape as a weapon of war to control communities and traumatise civilians.

He added, “We are not seeing random incidents. This is a well-planned, coordinated campaign of sexual violence.”

The M23 rebel group, backed by Rwanda, escalated the conflict in January by capturing the eastern city of Goma.

In February, the rebels seized Bukavu, gaining further ground in the mineral-rich eastern territories of Congo.

UN reports revealed that Rwanda supports the M23 rebels with about 4,000 troops on Congolese soil.

The rebels have previously vowed to march on Kinshasa, Congo’s capital, located 1,600 kilometres from the eastern region.

Their advance has sparked fears of a wider regional war and intensified humanitarian suffering across eastern Congo.

So far, the conflict has killed over 3,000 people and displaced more than 7 million civilians.

More than 100 armed groups continue to operate in eastern Congo, fighting for control of land and natural resources.

Congo’s government and the M23 rebels have started peace talks in Qatar to end the violence.

UNICEF urged the international community to provide immediate support and prevent further atrocities against children.

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