UN reports 500+ rapes in DRC

NEW YORK – The United Nations reported on Tuesday that more than 500 systematic rapes were committed by armed combatants in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since late July - more than double the number previously reported - and accepted partial responsibility for not protecting citizens.

The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Atul Khare told the UN Security Council that at least 267 more rapes occurred in another area of the country’s east, in addition to 242 rapes earlier reported in and around Luvungi, a village of about 2 200 people located about 30 km from a UN peacekeepers’ camp.

The UN peacekeeping force in DRC, called Monusco, on September 01 launched an operation using 750 troops to back efforts by Congolese security forces to arrest the perpetrators of the attacks, said Khare. At least 27 rebels armed with automatic rifles have surrendered and at least four more have been arrested, he said.

Meanwhile, Khare said, peacekeepers will undertake more night patrols, and perform more random checks on communities. The UN is also looking into ways of providing peacekeepers with mobile phones by installing a high frequency radio in Luvungi, he said. 

Khare told reporters after the council session that over 15 000 rapes were reported in DRC in both 2008 and 2009.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in recent days sent Khare to DRC to investigate why the UN peacekeepers didn’t learn about at least 242 mass rapes in the Luvungi area from July 30 to August 4 until August 12, when it was informed by the International Medical Corps which was treating many of the victims.

Secretary-General Ban, who had been travelling in Europe, unexpectedly flew on Tuesday to Rwanda, to discuss with officials their threat to withdraw UN peacekeepers from Sudan if the United Nations publishes a report accusing Rwanda’s army of possible genocide in the 1990s. – Nampa-AP

---