U.N. warns escalation in Congo war with M23 rebels bringing "summary executions" and gang rapes - CBS News
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Rwanda-backed rebels say they captured Goma Rwanda-backed rebels say they've captured Congo city of Goma04:38
Geneva — The United Nations on Friday voiced alarm at rampant violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, as the M23 armed group pushed deeper into the country, warning of summary executions and widespread rapes. The group's capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, earlier in the week was a dramatic escalation in a region that has seen decades of conflict involving multiple armed groups.
The U.N. on Thursday said that it was "deeply concerned" by "credible reports" that the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels were advancing south from Goma to Bukavu — capital of the neighboring South Kivu province.
U.N. rights office spokesman Jeremy Laurence said that since the start of the crisis, bombs had struct at least two sites housing internally displaced people (IDPs), "causing civilian casualties."
"We have also documented summary executions of at least 12 people by M23 between 26 and 28 January," he told reporters in Geneva.
In areas under M23 control in South Kivu, such as Minova, he said the group had "occupied schools and hospitals, forced IDPs out of camps and subjected the civilian population to forced conscription and forced labor."
The rights office, he said, had documented "cases of conflict-related sexual violence by the army and allied Wazalendo fighters in Kalehe territory."
"We are verifying reports that 52 women were raped by Congolese troops in South Kivu, including alleged reports of gang rape," he said.
Separately, he pointed to reports from DRC officials indicating that at least 165 women were raped by male inmates when more than 4,000 prisoners broke out of Goma's Muzenze prison on January 27, as the M23 began its assault on the town.
"Conflict-related sexual violence has been an appalling feature of armed conflict in eastern DRC for decades," Laurence said.
U.N. rights chief Volker Turk "is particularly concerned that this latest escalation risks deepening the risk of conflict-related sexual violence much further," he added.
Laurence cautioned that the "widespread proliferation of weapons in Goma" was "exacerbating" those risks.
He also called for investigations to bring "the perpetrators to justice" and to ensure accountability.
Ruth Maclean, West Africa bureau chief for the New York Times, told CBS News this week that the increase of violence in Goma was of particular concern as, for months, people from the surrounding countryside have poured into the city seeking respite from fighting. Many of the displaced people, Maclean said, were living out in the open, leaving them at increased risk.
The U.N., many Western governments and the DRC all accuse Rwanda's government of backing M23 in a bid to control and exploit their much larger eastern neighbor's vast mineral resources, in an escalation of a crisis that has been playing out for many years across several international borders.
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U.N. rights office spokesman Jeremy Laurence said that since the start of the crisis, bombs had struct at least two sites housing internally displaced people (IDPs), "causing civilian casualties."
"We have also documented summary executions of at least 12 people by M23 between 26 and 28 January," he told reporters in Geneva.
In areas under M23 control in South Kivu, such as Minova, he said the group had "occupied schools and hospitals, forced IDPs out of camps and subjected the civilian population to forced conscription and forced labor."
The rights office, he said, had documented "cases of conflict-related sexual violence by the army and allied Wazalendo fighters in Kalehe territory."
"We are verifying reports that 52 women were raped by Congolese troops in South Kivu, including alleged reports of gang rape," he said.
Separately, he pointed to reports from DRC officials indicating that at least 165 women were raped by male inmates when more than 4,000 prisoners broke out of Goma's Muzenze prison on January 27, as the M23 began its assault on the town.
"Conflict-related sexual violence has been an appalling feature of armed conflict in eastern DRC for decades," Laurence said.
It is a prime example of brutality.
Isn't one of the jobs of the UN to make sure shit like this never happens?
The UN has been a disaster in its own right.
The situation in the Congo right now is horrific.
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The Rebels sound just like the Russians, killing civilians, rape, torture, summery executions.
Perhaps the Russians are their mentors.
Or maybe another African dictator: Idi Amin Dada.
From 1971 to 1979, Idi Amin Dada ruled Uganda with an iron fist — and may have killed upwards of 500,000 people.
Idi Amin Dada: The Murderous Cannibal Who Ruled Uganda
Or another European named King Leopold ll, killed millions.
Killing off 50% of the orphans is touch by the Euro’s and the ‘’Human Zoo’’ was another one.
There are many more from other European countries, Italy, France etc.
They didn't have to go that far back did they?
See that country bordering Congo. It's called Uganda.
The rebels, known as M23, grabbing parts of eastern Congo? In their telling, they’re protecting ethnic Tutsis, the minority group massacred in a 1994 genocide , some of whom also live in Congo. But experts say the real reason is Congo’s rare minerals, which power our phones and devices. Congo’s mines are making the rebels — and their patrons in Rwanda — rich.
A Conflict in Congo - The New York Times
Oh, there are many more right up until the 1980s.
So rather than make comparisons, let us condemn what is going on now.
Comparisons are needed nothing wrong with them expect to show that the Europeans killed millions of black Africans while trying to show how ‘’savage’’ current Africans are. Oh and of course plundering all their wealth.
I condemn what is going on do you condemn and admit that the Europeans were morally bankrupt and scum for killing of millions and the destruction of their culture and customs??
I made my point.
The Marxist perspective on history with the white European as the permanent oppressor and the native people as the permanent oppressed is fallacious.
You certainly did, only it’s not the point that you think you made. By not answering my question and hiding behind a false [narrative,deleted][✘]
Congo had the most advanced economy in Africa between the Sahara and South Africa when it declared independence. Tough sledding since.
In other words, it isn't that easy to make things work.