Government forces still using soldiers ‘as young as 14’

Irish Examiner journalist Juno McEnroe visits the bombed army base at Rumangabo, just days before rebels attacked and seized the eastern Congo.

CONGO government forces are continuing to use children as young as 14 for spying, carrying supplies and in armed activities, according to the UN agency for children’s rights.

The Irish Examiner has learnt of brigades with the FARDC, the army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where youths have still not been removed from combat and military roles.

Numbers are relatively low compared to militia and other armed groups using child soldiers. But the army’s continued use of minors is undermining attempts by aid groups to rescue youths, in a country that has the worst reputation in the world for using child soldiers.

According to UNICEF, a number of Congo army brigades are still using children. Some units are avoiding being screened for child soldiers by the agency. UNICEF’s Congo child protection specialist Pernille Ironside said the 85th battalion in Walikale, North Kivu, still had children as young as 14 under its command.

“It would be inaccurate to say that there are no children with government forces. The 85th brigade is notorious.

“They [children] have all sorts of roles. There’s no set way that children are used. Oftentimes, they are used for support tasks. They might be porters, cooks or spies and they might also have more military tasks such as being bodyguards or camp guards or being escorts to certain commanders and they may also be fighters.”

Walikale, in the west of the province, is renowned for its mining of coltan, a special metal used globally for mobile phone and computer parts.

UNICEF say the 85th brigade is profiting from the illegal exploitation of the mines.

“These children may also be used in the illegal exploitation of minerals from that area, facilitating their exit out of the area.

“We know that this particular brigade is involved in those (mine) extractions and they have a number of children who are used in all sorts of roles, one can deduce that children would also be used in roles related to illegal extraction.

“They’re benefiting financially from those mines and that’s why they don’t want to leave that area,” added Ms Ironside.

Up to three years ago there were over 33,000 child soldiers active in the DRC. That number was significantly reduced to around 3,500 this year mainly in North and South Kivu, mostly through the work of aid agencies demobilising children from forces

But with renewed heavy fighting, large scale recruiting in villages by feuding armed groups in recent months as well as further forced recruitment, it is feared the numbers of teenagers carrying guns in the bush could escalate again.

“There may be abductions, coming to a school and rounding up the children. The FDLR is notorious for attacking villages and forcing children to go with them,” added Ms Ironside.

Often a ‘carrot and stick’ approach is needed when approaching armed group commanders about releasing child soldiers.

The welfare of the child is stressed but commanders are discretely reminded about other army generals, indicted for recruiting youths.

“That strikes the fear into these guys. But sometimes this backfires and because they’re so concerned about charges, they abandon the children in the bush,” added the UNICEF official.

This project was funded by the Simon Cumbers' Media Challenge Fund, supported by Irish Aid.