200811112273 | DRC Govt forces looting and raping

DRC Govt forces looting and raping

Goma - Government forces went on a rampage of looting and rape against civilians on Tuesday, the UN said, amid warnings of "humanitarian black holes" opening up in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

"Soldiers of the FARDC (Armed Forces of DR Congo) have been engaged since Monday evening in looting and acts of brutality against the civilian population in the Kanyabayonga area," 175km north of the regional capital Goma, MONUC spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Paul Dietrich said.

Violence against civilians had spread to the towns of Kaina and Kirumba further north, and continued into the early afternoon on Tuesday, the UN Mission in DRC spokesperson said.

The insecurity had forced humanitarian organisations to suspend operations in the area, said Elisabeth Byrs of the UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Several villages along the road linking the three towns had been looted and women raped, the UN-run Radio Okapi reported.

OCHA's local office in Goma said aid workers had become trapped by the violence and MONUC had dispatched patrols to try to get them to safety.

"Personnel from three humanitarian organisations are trapped in the area because of the generalised insecurity," said Patrick Lavand'homme, OCHA director in Goma.