United Nations accuses Congo rebels of violence against civilians

The United Nations accused rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo of violence against civilians, including in November 2008 killing 13 people and recruiting by force some 200 young men. Rebels led by Tutsi ex-general Laurent Nkunda, who drove Congolese army forces out of parts of eastern Nord-Kivu province, have also been responsible for kidnappings and the forced displacement of people living in areas under their control, the UN mission in DR Congo, known as MONUC, said in Kinshasa. "Between November 25 and 29, there were at least 13 civilians killed, two wounded, 5,000 displaced, 20 children missing and 200 young men recruited by force to be fighters or forced labourers," said MONUC military spokesman lieutenant-colonel Jean-Paul Dietrich. He said Nkunda's National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) forces abused the local population living between Kiwanja, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Nord-Kiv's capital Goma and Ishasha on the border with Uganda, before withdrawing from this strategic route. "There are kidnappings, forced movements of the population by the CNDP, the imposition of taxes through road blocks and civilians being forced to repair the roads," said Dietrich. The UN spokesman explained that these "very serious" incidents were documented by a mobile MONUC team in the region. Nkunda's men have also put pressure on displaced people living close to an UN base near Kiwanja. "They told the displaced people 'You have to leave, you are not safe here'," Dietrich said, adding: "We have condemned that, the population has the right to choose where they wish to stay." The rebel assault which began in late August 2008 reached the gates of Goma and in late October 2008 Nkunda declared a unilateral ceasefire with Congolese army troops, but not their allied militias, who the CNDP blames for the violent acts. The government's coalition of forces has "succeeded in entering the zones under the control of our movement" and seeks to "challenge the authority of the CNDP and its efforts to establish peace" in the region, the CNDP executive secretary Deogratias Nzabirinda said in a statement. He added that the pro-government militias want to "promote frustration and fear among the local inhabitants to stop them from supporting or collaborating with the CNDP." Several thousand women also took to the streets of the capital Kinshasa to protest rape and sexual assaults against women and children in conflict zones. Organizers presented a statement to Alan Doss, head of the MONUC, specifically citing the violence in Nord-Kivu province. "The message is addressed to all men," Doss said. Rape is commonplace in conflicts in central Africa. In a resolution in June 2008, the UN Security Council unanimously branded sexual violence "a tactic of war" that could be regarded as a war crime.

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