DR CONGO: Over 15,000 Rapes Committed in 2009: UN Official
More than 15,000 rapes were committed last year in a strife-torn region of Democratic Republic of Congo where peacekeepers cannot guarantee civilian security, a top UN official said Friday.
With accusations now being made against DR Congo government troops of new cases of raping and killing in the east of the country, the head of the UN force, Roger Meece, said 'the scale of the problem is enormous.'
The chief of the UN Mission in DR Congo, MONUSCO, appeared before the UN Security Council the day after a UN envoy said government troops were attacking women and killing in the same villages where mass rapes were reported in July and August.
Meece was unable to give details of the new attacks, but he said: 'The best data available, for example, suggests that over 15,000 rapes were committed last year in eastern DRC.' AFP (16 October 2010)