The Congolese government must seek justice against rebel force that allegedly carried out mass gang rapes last month, a U.N. special envoy warned.
A U.N. human rights report claimed members of the Mai Mai militant group along with members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda gang-raped hundreds of women and several men between July 30 and Aug. 2.
Margot Wallstrom, the U.N. special envoy on sexual violence, is headed to the region for a weeklong fact-finding mission to investigate the atrocities.
She laid the blame at the feet of the Rwandan liberation forces, calling on the group to take accountability for its actions.
"The establishment of responsibilities must begin with the leaders of this group and with those of other groups for not having prevented these outrages," she was quoted by the United Nations' news agency as saying.
The U.N. peacekeeping mission in the area deflected criticism that it ignored warnings that surfaced days before the rapes occurred some 20 miles from their base.
The Security Council called on the Congolese government last week to make "swift and fair" efforts to bring the perpetrators of the rapes to justice.
Wallstrom added the Congolese government needed to take action "before the trail goes cold and media attention flags."
