Rehabilitation of Former Child Soldiers Freed from ADF in DRC

Child Soldiers Freed from ADF

• 💡 Former child soldiers, some as young as 12, are undergoing rehabilitation at a specialized care center in Inuri province.
• 🎯 These children were abducted by the armed Islamist group, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
• 💔 One testimony recounts the abduction, the killing of a mother, and the kidnapping of siblings, with one sister still held hostage and married to an ADF leader.

Horrors of Captivity

• ⚠️ The ADF severely punishes mistakes, with extreme violence against women and children.
• ⚡ Children were forced to kill and faced brutal punishment, including whipping, for refusal.
• 🛡️ On ADF bases in dense forests, they served as recruits and human shields for the Islamic State Associated Group.

ADF Tactics and Forced Conversion

• ⚔️ The ADF uses intimidation and violence, threatening to kill villagers who refuse to join them or convert to Islam.
• 📈 The center rehabilitates approximately 10 child soldiers freed from the ADF each month.
• 🧠 Psychological treatment for the trauma experienced by these children can extend for years.