[An Nahar] A probe by members of a U.N. mission confirmed allegations of rape and other abuses by Democratic Republic of the Congo...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo or
Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material...
troops as they pulled back from advancing rebels, an official said Friday.
The investigation followed claims that dozens of women were raped by government forces in the town of Minova in eastern DR Congo last month.
The Armed Forces of the DR Congo, known as the FARDC, already face criticism for quickly collapsing as rebels from the M23 group -- which has also been accused of widespread abuses -- advanced in the region.
Members of the U.N. Stabilization Mission (MONUSCO) "indicate that several human rights
...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions...
violations including rape and looting were committed by FARD elements," said U.N. deputy front man Eduardo del Buey.
U.N. officials "cannot confirm the reported figure of 72 rapes, but is on the ground conducting further investigation," del Buey said, adding that the mission "expressed serious concern to the Congolese authorities."
The United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
said on Wednesday that U.N. Sherlocks had reported about 70 rapes in the Minova area, but did not say who committed them.
Minova is near the North Kivu scenic provincial capital of Goma, and the army withdrew from Minova after losing Goma to the M23.