Amnesty International, USA, August 21, 2018.
Thousands of children have been either forcibly recruited or tricked into fighting in the armed conflict by armed groups such as the Kamuena Nsapu. A military campaign launched by the government against the Kamuena Nsapu insurgency has cost thousands of lives and has displaced more than a million people, some within the Kasai region and others crossing into Angola.
Children, as young as 11, told stories of gruesome abuses including being forced to participate in the combat, sustaining injuries from bullets. They also said they were forced by Kamuena Nsapu leaders to drink mystic fluids, supposedly in order to protect them against bullets during combat.
According to United Nations agencies, the humanitarian crisis resulting from the conflict is worsening as more than 700,000 children are malnourished and need urgent assistance to recover from acute malnutrition.
