Dozens of women were raped in a coordinated attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo on New Year's Day 2011

The humanitarian agency, Doctors Without Borders, said 33 women were raped in Fizi, South Kivu, in the eastern part of the war-torn country. Women had been restrained with ropes or beaten unconscious with the butt of a gun before being attacked, some in front of their children. Up to four armed men were involved at a time and homes and shops were looted. Rape is a frequent weapon of war in Congo, the United Nations says. It has named the Democratic Republic of Congo the "rape capital of the world," with 15,000 women raped in eastern Congo in 2009. A U.N. report in September 2010 slammed Congo's security forces for failing prevent a wave of mass rapes over several days during the summer. The preliminary report confirmed the rape of at least 303 civilians between July 30, 2010 and August 2, 2010 in the Walikale region of Congo's North Kivu province and the rapes have clearly not stopped. Doctors Without Borders provided medical and psychosocial care for 5,600 rape victims in North and South Kivu in 2009.