Congo (Kinshasa)

A group of government soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been detained over allegations of sexual violence earlier this month, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

Human rights officers from the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, known as MONUSCO, believe that over a dozen women were raped and subjected to other abuses at the beginning of January, U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

Despite a peace deal with rebels in March 2009 and better ties with Uganda and Rwanda, the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains dangerous and troubled. Predatory acts against the civilian population, from illegal taxes and looting to mass rape, are on the rise. Rebel groups are proliferating and forming alliances, showing just how helpful the insecure status quo is to those keen on grabbing resources and influence.


The reported arrests of ten Congolese soldiers accused of looting stores and raping at least a dozen women in the Fizi District earlier in January is not enough to reassure local civil society.

The rapes and destruction of property were carried out on New Year's Day by soldiers detailed to the area as part of the peacekeeping Operation Amani Leo, jointly run by the U.N. mission in the DRC, MONUSCO, and the Congolese Armed Forces.

Government soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) have been accused of the New Year's Day mass rape in Fizi of over a dozen women. The coordinated attack also left many more injured and included the looting and burning of several town homes and businesses. A spokesperson for the military, Vianney Kazarama, has confirmed that eight soldiers have been arrested in connection with the attack.

Maria, 20, whispers as she recounts being raped by soldiers two days before Christmas.

“They entered our house in the night. One after the other they went over me, in front of my son and husband. I thought the pain would kill me,” she says. “The second time I died was when my husband refused to touch my body or the food I had prepared for him.”

Legislation has been passed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) national assembly aimed at reforming the country's police force, which, staffed by ex-soldiers and former rebels - riddled with corruption, poorly trained and lacking basic equipment - is widely seen as more of a threat to the population than a guarantor of its security.

Slapped into submission by a child soldier, a man thanks the gunmen who have just raped his wife and daughter, now bedraggled and whimpering. Dozens of women in a large circle observe the harrowing scene. But this is theatre - as therapy.

The overwhelming issue this year will be elections. This election will be in many ways more difficult and challenging than the 2006 election. Then, the incumbent was likely to win (and he did), the business and political establishment just wanted stability and the biggest rebel threat (RCD) had been marginalized.

A United Nations envoy this weekend urged the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) authorities to immediately investigate reports of dozens of rapes occurring on new year's day in the country's troubled eastern province of South Kivu.

In many of the conflicts of the last decades – from Afghanistan to Somalia, from the Balkans to the Democratic Republic of the Congo – violence against women has reached horrific proportions and constitutes the most difficult challenge confronting the relief community.