(IRIN News) – When he was seven Dikembe Muamba* became a soldier on the orders of his uncle, a chief in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) North Kivu Province. “I stole my first gun, when I was 10. It was a flintlock. By the time I became a captain at 14, I had many guns. I led 50 people, both children and adults. There were about 30 children in the unit. The youngest was 10,” Muamba, now 17, told IRIN.
Growing up in war – the DRC’s child soldiers
New York, NY 10168
watchlist@watchlist.org
Watchlist is a fiscally sponsored project of United Charitable, a US-based 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.
