United Nations, Oct. 8 -- UN peacekeepers and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) worked together to free 410 children held by armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a UN spokesman said on Tuesday.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the peacekeeping mission in DRC, known as MONUSCO, worked with UNICEF from January to September to release 344 boys and 66 girls held by armed groups in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.
Dujarric said the freed children have been referred to services that will help them reintegrate into a normal life after their experience.
"During the same period, 165 cases of child recruitment and use (by the armed groups) were verified by the United Nation...