MORE THAN 100,000 CHILDREN HAVE BEEN DISPLACED BY THE LATEST ESCALATION IN EASTERN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, UNICEF SAID ON SUNDAY, WARNING THE NUMBERS ARE EXPECTED TO RISE AS VIOLENCE SPREADS.(PHOTO).

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 More than 100,000 children have been displaced by the latest escalation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, UNICEF said on Sunday, warning the numbers are expected to rise as violence spreads. Since Dec. 1, intense fighting has uprooted more than 500,000 people, with children accounting for over 100,000 of those displaced in South Kivu alone, the UN agency said in a statement released Sunday. It said since Dec. 2, hundreds have been killed in the fighting, and children have been among the victims, with four students killed, six injured, and at least seven schools attacked or damaged. The rapid escalation has forced hundreds of thousands of children and families to flee within Congo and into neighboring Burundi and Rwanda, it added. Many people fleeing the violence have crossed into Burundi, with over 50,000 new arrivals reported between Dec. 6 and 11, nearly half of them children, UNICEF said, adding that the numbers are expected to rise as more displaced are identified. “Chi...

BENUE ATTACKS DRIVEN BY LAND-GRABBING TERRORISTS, NOT FARMER-HERDER CLASHES, SAYS STATE GOVERNMENT. (PHOTO).


 Benue Attacks Driven by Land-Grabbing Terrorists, Not Farmer-Herder Clashes, Says State Government


The Benue State Government has attributed the recent wave of deadly attacks on communities in Ukum and Logo local government areas to organized criminals intent on seizing land from residents. Tersoo Kula, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Hyacinth Alia, disclosed this on Tuesday, describing the perpetrators as terrorists who invade villages on motorcycles, armed with AK-47 rifles, to kill, maim, and displace locals from their ancestral homes.


Kula reported that the death toll from the attacks has risen to 72, with assailants targeting farms, markets, and worship centers. He emphasized that the violence, often mislabeled as farmer-herder clashes, is deliberate terrorism aimed at occupying vacated lands. “They come in large numbers from a neighboring state, attack without warning, and chase people away to take their land,” Kula stated. “This is not a clash but outright terrorism.”


The government criticized the term “clashes” as a misrepresentation that downplays the brutality, urging a clearer understanding of the crisis to address the ongoing violence in Benue State effectively.

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