"UN doubles reports of rapes in Congo" by Associated Press | September 8, 2010
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations reported yesterday that more than 500 systematic rapes were committed by armed combatants in eastern Congo since late July — more than double the number previously reported.
Also see: Coming Out of the Forest in the Congo
Red Cross and Rapes in the Congo
WTF is the U.N. doing there?
UN Assistant Secretary General for Peacekeeping Atul Khare called for prosecution of Rwandan rebel FDLR and Congolese Mai-Mai rebels blamed for many of the attacks and sanctions against their leaders.
Related: Rwandan Revenge
Cutting Through the African Bush
Nothing about the Lord's Army though, huh?
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon sent Khare to Congo to investigate why UN peacekeepers did not learn about the mass rapes in the Luvungi area from July 30 to Aug. 4 until Aug. 12. Luvungi, a village of about 2,200 people, is a half-hour drive from a peacekeepers’ camp.
And the Congo is their largest peacekeeping operation. Can you say failure?
Rape as a weapon of war has become commonplace in eastern Congo, where at least 8,300 rapes were reported last year, according to the United Nations.
:-(
Yup, that's why we are agin' 'em here at the old MSM Monitor.
War devastates your humanity in so many ways.
--more--"
On the other hand, there are accidents:
"Many are lost as 2 boats flip in Congo" by Associated Press | September 6, 2010
KINSHASA, Congo — Two boat capsizes in one weekend on Congo’s vast rivers have left 70 people dead and 200 others feared dead in unrelated cases that were characterized by heavily loaded boats operated with few safety measures, officials said yesterday.
Related: Capsized in the Congo
Early Saturday, a boat on the Rupi River in northwest Equateur Province hit a rock and capsized, provincial spokeswoman Ebale Engumba said yesterday. She said more than 70 people are believed dead among 100 estimated passengers. She said officials are investigating why the boat was traveling through the darkness without a light.
In Kasai Occidental Province in Congo’s south, 200 people were feared dead after a boat loaded with passengers and fuel drums caught fire and capsized, a survivor said yesterday. Another survivor confirmed the account and said local fishermen refused to help drowning passengers who had jumped off the crowded boat.
The boat accident in southern Congo would be the deadliest in the Central African nation this year, and among the worst in Africa this year.
The boats that traverse Congo’s rivers are often in poor repair and filled beyond capacity.
The industry is not well-regulated and boat operators are known to fill the vessels to dangerous levels....
Because the people really have no other choice.
--more--"
