Militiamen rape 127 women in east Congo town
Congo-Brazzaville has banned Muslim women from wearing the full face-veil in public, citing security reasons, an Islamic association told AFP (AFP /Amr Nabil/file)Armed men raped 127 women earlier this month during a raid on a town in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo\’s South Kivu province, medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Thursday.
Some 60 militiamen assaulted the women during a May 1 attack on the town of Kikamba in the province of South Kivu\’s Shabunda region, MSF said in a statement. It did not identify the armed group responsible.
Dozens of armed groups operate in eastern Congo, where a 1998-2003 conflict killed millions of people, mostly from hunger and disease. Both state and rebel forces have been accused by rights groups of using rape as a weapon of war.
In November, Congolese army general Jerome Kakwavu became the highest ranking official convicted of rape by a military tribunal in Congo while a rebel commander in northeastern Congo from 2003-2005.
SOURCE: REUTERS
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