Mass rape in The Congo

[narla]

msnnews
Hundreds mass raped in DR Congo: UN20:04 AEST Fri Sep 24 201011 hours 41 minutes

Three groups of armed militia raped at least 303 civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo between July 30 and August 2, a UN preliminary report into the atrocities said on Friday.

"At least 303 civilians were raped, in many cases multiple times," said a statement issued by the UN Joint Human Rights Office on their initial report on the violations.

"The known victims include 235 women, 52 girls, 13 men and three boys," detailed the probe, following its visit to 13 affected villages in the Walikale region in Nord-Kivu province.

"In addition, at least 923 houses and 42 shops were looted and 116 people were abducted in order to carry out forced labour," it said.

Before the probe, the UN officials had noted at least 242 rapes in these villages, and another 260 in other parts of Nord and Sud Kivu provinces.

The UN joint mission said that due to serious insecurity in the area, it had not been able to confirm other cases and the exact circumstances surrounding the other incidents.

But on the Walikale case, the probe identified "serious shortcomings" on the part of the local Congolese army and police to prevent mass rapes.

The local forces' "failure to prevent or stop the attacks was compounded by subsequent failings on the part of MONUSCO forces, which it says had not received any specific training on the protection of civilians, and suffered from a number of operational constraints".

The report blamed the rapes on around 200 members of the Mai-Mai Cheka group, the rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and a group connected to army deserter Emmanuel Nsengiyumva.

Detailing the horrific events, the report said the militia arrived in villages pretending that they wanted to protect the population, before launching their attacks in small groups.

Armed with AK47s, grenades and machetes, the militia trapped the population, cutting off all telephone communications and preventing the villagers from raising the alarm.

"While one group was looting and raping in a village ... another would be setting ambushes to catch people fleeing through the forest, who were also then raped or taken away as forced labour," it added.

"The scale and viciousness of these mass rapes defy belief," said UN human rights chief Navi Pillay.

"Even in the eastern part of DRC where rape has been a perennial and massive problem for the past 15 years, this incident stands out because of the extraordinarily cold-blooded and systematic way in which it appears to have been planned and executed."

  

[Sarajmt]

Of course the UN will take a stand.  They'll issue a condemnation of Israel.

[narla]

I'd love to know who in the UN decides what is worth taking a stand against.

[margypops]

The UN is absolutely crap ...

[teko]

It seems like the whole world is just going evil! Just plain evil! I thank God I live in America! As bad as people like to paint it and as much greed as there seems to be, it is still the best place to be.

I am with the rest of you, where is the outrage!

[onthefence]

this makes me so angry @ the militia & very sad for the victims!, these militia ppl must have no concience whatsoever, I dont see how they could live with themselves!
Somthing needs to be done to bring them to justice!

[Ashelen]

sorry I need to clarify; our group raises money to send foodstuffs and clothing to Darfur. our monetary shipments were being stolen and misappropriated so we had to switch to hard goods. Even so, we can only pray that the women and children living in squalor and fleeing the Sudanese "recruiting squads" can get it.

[Ashelen]

Yes my husband told me about this. It turns my stomach upside-down and inside-out. And where the *bleep* is the public outcry?!?!?! where is the "let's send in the army"? NOWHERE. Because there's no political or monetary gain to be had by interfering...and armchair warriors are famous for only picking causes that'll give us something in return. As if the preservation of human dignity and life wasn't a good enough return for ANY military action.

I can't even get into how upset this whole thing makes me. I've been actively raising money to send to Darfur and the Sudan for years now; before it was even "popular" in the news...and this just illustrates how sick things are in the under-developed and under-televised parst of Africa....if ever America felt like we had a responsibility to step in and save a country from evil or even (if you don't want to get religious) serious infractions against human rights and safety...this would be it.

and where's the hue and holler? nowhere.

sick.

sorry....In all the years that we've campaigned for Darfur, people just seem to not care. And yet Iraq "was a good cause"? I'm not saying it wasn't...but if you really want a good cause, there are some desperate situations out there that could USE our help....and we'll never give it. not enough publicity.

[narla]

So what is the UN going to do about it?Nothing as usual,are other countries going to step in and help these people?probably not,why?Is it because there is no wealth such as oil in this country?

Would love to hear others opinions.