Both sides of the conflict, the Congolese military and the M23 rebel fighters recruited child soldiers, often taking them from the villages they raided, giving them weapons, instructing them to fight in brutal battles. The children were basically enslaved by being drugged and forced to fight. Many lost their lives but many more lost the innocence of their childhoods. They were used because their young minds were easily molded and taken advantage of. Even though the war in the Congo is now coming to an end, the peace agreements do not erase the lasting damage that the conflict had on the children who were forcefully brought into it.
During the most recent year long conflict in Congo, there were an estimated 30,000 child soldiers in the country. (Wintonyk, 2014) After the war these soldiers are still severely affected by the peril that the war thrust upon them. After being kidnapped and enslaved as soldiers, the children of the war lost more than their childhood. They lost their education, their families and their futures. While fighting, the children were not given education and they fell behind, not being able to continue to learn and grow. The many drugs that the children were given to keep them subservient also caused much damage to the minds of the child soldiers.