UNICEF has sounded the alarm over a rapid escalation of violence in South Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), warning that intensifying hostilities have forced hundreds of thousands of civilians—most of them women and children—to flee their homes in search of safety.

In a statement, the UN children’s agency said the renewed fighting has triggered mass displacement both within the DRC and across borders into neighboring Burundi and Rwanda, placing children at severe risk and deepening an already dire humanitarian crisis in the region.

According to UNICEF, since 1 December intense clashes have displaced more than 500,000 people inside South Kivu alone, including over 100,000 children. With violence continuing to spread, the agency warned that displacement figures are likely to rise further in the coming days and weeks.

UNICEF expressed grave concern over reports of widespread civilian casualties, noting that hundreds of people have been killed since 2 December. The agency also documented serious violations against children, including the killing of four students, injuries to six others, and attacks on at least seven schools, leaving classrooms damaged or destroyed.

As families flee under bombardment and gunfire, children face heightened protection risks, UNICEF said, including family separation, exposure to violence, exploitation, gender-based violence, and severe psychological trauma.

The crisis has also spilled across borders. UNICEF reported that more than 50,000 people crossed into Burundi between 6 and 11 December alone, nearly half of them children. Authorities expect the true number of displaced people to be significantly higher as registration efforts continue. Many arrivals are injured, include unaccompanied or separated children, or are women and girls facing increased vulnerability.

In response, UNICEF said it is working closely with national authorities and humanitarian partners in both the DRC and Burundi to mount an urgent, child-focused response. The agency is also coordinating with other UN bodies to conduct rapid needs assessments and scale up lifesaving assistance as soon as security conditions allow.

Calling on all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF stressed that children must never bear the cost of war.

“Children must never pay the price of conflict,” the agency said, reaffirming its readiness to support every child affected by the escalating violence in eastern Congo. (ILKHA)