Beni: 49 Ex-hostage Civilians Handed over to Civil Society Following FARDC-UPDF Operations

Forty-nine (49) civilians were handed over to civil society in the city of Beni in North Kivu on Tuesday 27 August 2024. These are ex-hostages of the ADF fighters released by the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC).

According to Lieutenant-Colonel Mak Hazukay, it was during the military operations of the two armies in North Kivu and Ituri that these civilians were fired from the hands of ADF fighters.

Among the forty-nine (49) ex-hostages are six (06) May May May fighters, sixteen (16) women, twenty-four (24) children and three (03) young boys.

Children were handed over to the Child Protection Section of MONUSCO. Their age varies between five (05) and seventeen (17) years.

According to the UN mission, as in such circumstances, after this release, MONUSCO entrusted these children to an NGO partner of UNICEF, for care before their return as a family. Since January 2024, more than three hundred (300) children have been taken out of the ranks of armed groups by MONUSCO and the FARDC. Some have since found their families and returned to school.