Military shake-ups could worsen Congo's mass rape problem

[High_Gravity]

Military shake-ups could worsen Congo's mass rape problem

Over the past few days, information has come trickling in about yet another case of mass rape in the eastern Congo. According to Doctors Without Borders, local health centers, and the UN, anywhere between 121 and 170 women may have been raped on June 11 and 12 in Abala and Nyakiele, two villages in Fizi territory, South Kivu.

Why? In most reports on the incident, the essential context is missing. In this case, the context is the simultaneous integration of armed groups and the formation of new regiments out of existing brigades. This twin process – while probably necessary – has been rushed and has produced a volatile and often violent situation, of which this mass rape may be a symptom.

So what happened in Fizi? This is what we know so far.

The Congolese army is undergoing a process of troop consolidation, regrouping their brigades – which are often desperately understaffed, with only 400-800 soldiers – into regiments of 1,200 soldiers. So far, four regiments have been formed in South Kivu, and another five are on their way. Soldiers are being pulled together in training centers, where they are consolidated and placed under new command.

On June 7, the commander of the 10th military region, General Patrick Masunzu, ordered all weapons in the Kananda training center to be stockpiled. This infuriated Colonel Kifaru Niragire, who had been commanding the 43rd sector. Col. Kifaru alleged that Gen. Masunzu was going to name Colonel Ruterera, a Munyamulenge officer from the FRF armed group, as the commander of the newly formed regiment. As Kifaru was the previously the overall commander of several brigades, he felt he was being passed over in favor of an officer from Masunzu's ethnic community.

A stand-off ensued in the training center, and Col. Kifaru deserted along with around 170 soldiers, climbing into the mountains of the High Plateau that rises up to the west of Lake Tanganyika. According to some sources, he was later joined by a small group of around 20 FDLR Rwandan rebels. Col. Kifaru is a Hutu from North Kivu and a former commander of PARECO, which had links to the mainly Hutu FDLR.

On the night of June 10, Col. Kifaru's group passed through Abala, a small village of around 300 people, mostly from the Bembe community. According to diplomatic sources who investigated the incident, Col. Kifaru's men ransacked the village for food and valuables. In the course of this pillage, his soldiers allegedly raped 15 women (some sources are higher).

Military shake-ups could worsen Congo's mass rape problem - CSMonitor.com

 

[LAfrique]

When governments get into the habit of making zombies and assassins by pumping soldiers with addictive substances and nano devices for performance, the results are barbaric activities and, unfortunately, suicides for some - Prison Planet.com » 18 U.S. veterans commit suicide daily; largely due to psychiatric drugs

 

[High_Gravity]

When governments get into the habit of making zombies and assassins by pumping soldiers with addictive substances and nano devices for performance, the results are barbaric activities and, unfortunately, suicides for some - Prison Planet.com » 18 U.S. veterans commit suicide daily; largely due to psychiatric drugs

Do you mind telling me what the fuck this has to do with the Congo?

 

[High_Gravity]

Congo Rapes: At Least 121 Women Assaulted By Troops Last Month, Says U.N.

GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. human rights investigators have confirmed that at least 121 women were raped by Congolese troops who attacked and looted villages in the lawless east last month, a United Nations spokesman said on Friday.

The mass rapes were reported to the team in interviews with victims, police and medical personnel, he said.

"(U.N. human rights staff) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has confirmed that large-scale rape, pillaging, and cruel and degrading treatment were committed in Nakiele, in South Kivu province between the 11th and 13th of June by troops of the armed forces," spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing.

Referring to the interviews, he added: "According to their statements, the troops raped 121 women, stole 157 goats and looted other goods including some $90,000 in cash and gold."

A spokesman for Congo's government has said that Colonel Kifaru Niragiye may have been behind the rapes after he and around 100 men deserted from a training camp where they were due to be integrated into the army.

The U.N. refugee agency said on June 24 that up to 170 women had been raped -- the largest reported mass rape in the turbulent central African country in nearly a year.

Colville noted that the number of rapes are often underestimated. "Because of course with rape you always have the issue of how many women are prepared to come forward and say it happened. The fact that they are giving a number means they are fairly sure this is a minimum number," he said.

"More in-depth investigations will be undertaken to further verify these allegations and details and facts and to identify the perpetrators," he said.

A second mission is planned to Nakiele in the coming days.

Congo Rapes: At Least 121 Women Assaulted By Troops Last Month, Says U.N.

 

[waltky]

279 Dead Of Cholera In DR Congo...

Still drinking river water in DRCongo, despite cholera
28 July`11 — "I drink the water from the river, why not?" Fils Keto said defiantly. "Water's water!"

On the banks of the Congo river in Kinshasa, old habits are proving hard to break despite an outbreak of cholera that has already claimed 279 lives. Keto, a man in his 30s dressed sharply in jeans and white tee-shirt, was not bothered -- though he had no idea how the disease was caught. In any case, said Keto, he was not worried: he had drunk the river water and still felt fine. And in any case, he added, he had never heard of water making you sick. Keto lives on one of the islets along the river Congo, a stone's throw away from Kinshasa's port of Ngamanzo.

Like a lot of other local people who don't have running water in their homes, he uses the river not just for drinking water but for cooking and the laundry. And in the the absence of decent sanitary facilities, the river also serves as a toilet, which only increases the health hazards. The country's latest cholera outbreak began in the northeastern province of Province Orientale in March, spreading west to Bandundu before reaching Equateur and Kinshasa. Or to put it another way, it followed the course of the Congo river.

According to the latest official toll, the outbreak has already killed 279 people out of the 4,062 cases detected across the country. The Ngamanzo dispensary recorded its first case in mid-June and has since recorded 15 cases in all, including a 35-year-old woman who succumbed to the disease. Officials there say it is the first time that cholera has struck the area. Known as the "dirty hands disease", cholera's symptoms include diarrhea, a high fever and sometimes vomiting.

But when the first cases appeared, some local people would not accept the river water was to blame, said Gilbert Kanyinda, one of the local officials trying to educate people to the dangers of the disease. "They say that God has created water, that they started drinking water a long time ago and they have never had any problem," he explained. Locals had even accused officials of having somehow fabricated the illness in a bid to get funding from the government, he said.

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