Soldiers rape at least 67 women over New Year's in Congo - UN report

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Soldiers rape at least 67 women over New Year's in Congo - UN report

2011-01-26 11:55:12 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- Army soldiers allegedly raped at least 67 women over the New Year period in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), more than double the number originally thought, United Nations (UN) said Tuesday.

Earlier in the month, the non-governmental organization Médecins Sans Frontières reported that armed men raped over 30 women on January 1 in the town of Fizi in South Kivu province.

However, two separate investigations by the UN human rights office and the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC (MONUSCO) found that at least 35 women had been raped and 32 people wounded by soldiers serving with the Congolese national army, known as FARDC, in Fizi on the night of 1 January.

Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told a briefing in Geneva Tuesday that 11 people had also been arrested and 14 shops had been looted in Fizi center, a small town in Fizi territory. Those arrested had since been released.

FARDC commander Lieutenant-Colonel Kibibi Mutware, along with three majors and 11 soldiers suspected of being among the alleged perpetrators of the attacks, are currently detained in Uvira, as their trials are expected to take place shortly.

Meanwhile, in the village of Bushani in North Kivu province, FARDC soldiers reportedly committed at least 32 rapes on New Year's Eve. The alleged victims include two pregnant women and one 16-year-old girl.

They also arbitrarily arrested 12 people, looted about 50 houses and submitted many villagers to inhuman and degrading treatment, Colville stated.

Immediately after the Bushani attack ended, the soldiers reportedly received a radio call asking them to move towards Kailenge, and on their way to Kailenge, they also attacked Kalambairo village and looted dozens of houses and the local healthcare center.

Colville said that OHCHR remains extremely concerned with the fact that the Congolese army remained responsible for a significant number of human rights violations, including sexual violence, against their own population.

"In the face of these atrocities, the High Commissioner calls on the Government to consider establishing a vetting mechanism in the context of the security sector reform," Colville stated.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has also expressed his grave concern at the human rights situation in the country in his latest report to the Security Council on MONUSCO.

"I continue to be deeply concerned about the high levels of insecurity, violence and human rights abuses facing the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, particularly in the conflict-affected areas in the eastern part of the country," he wrote, adding that looting, rape, forced labor and robbery remain "daily occurrences" in the region.

In addition, Ban noted that, in October and November alone, MONUSCO recorded nearly 2,000 reported incidents of sexual violence throughout the country.

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