UN Accuses DRC Army of Looting Spree
By VOA News
11 November 2008
The United Nations has accused government troops of looting and attacking civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
A spokesman for the U.N. mission in Congo says the looting is centered around the Kanyabayonga area, about 175 kilometers north of Goma, capital of North Kivu province.
Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Paul Dietrich says the violence began late Monday and continued Tuesday.
U.N.-funded Radio Okapi says the looting has caused a panic in several villages and prompted many people to flee into the bush. The report says at least three people have been injured and that women are being raped.
Aid agencies and human rights groups have warned of a growing humanitarian crisis in North Kivu, where rebels by renegade General Laurent Nkunda launched an offensive late last month.
Tuesday, Human Rights Watch said at least 50 civilians were killed in the rebel-held town of Kiwanja on November 4 and 5. It says the majority were killed by Nkunda's forces in reprisal against those believed to be enemy collaborators. The group based its report on civilians who fled the town.
The World Food Program is pushing to feed the tens of thousands of people displaced by the recent fighting. The agency said Monday it had almost finished distributing 10-day food rations to 135,000 people in camps around Goma.
The WFP estimates the total number of people in need of food aid across the eastern DRC to be more than 1.3 million.
Many were displaced in previous bouts of fighting between Nkunda's forces and the government.
Nkunda formed his militia in 2004, saying he needed to protect minority Tutsis from Hutu fighters originally from Rwanda. The rebels and government began new clashes in August, following the collapse of a January peace deal.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP.
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