UN: Possible War Crimes Committed in Eastern Congo
By VOA News
09 September 2009
The United Nations says it is likely both government and rebel forces have committed war crimes in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Two U.N. reports released Wednesday say most of the transgressions took place last October and November as Congo's army battled the CNDP, an ethnic Tutsi militia.
The group's leader, Laurent Nkunda, was arrested in January in Rwanda.
The alleged crimes include arbitrary murders, rapes, and pillaging of towns and villages.
The reports were produced by the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo and the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.
There was no immediate reaction from the Congolese government.
Meanwhile, witnesses say hundreds of former rebels who joined Congo's army have deserted their posts.
The reports say a former rebel commander known as Jaguar led the desertion late Friday.
The French News Agency (AFP) says the ex-rebels looted a village in North Kivu province.
Congolese army officers describe the incident as an act of indiscipline, and say the problem is being sorted out.
Congo's government is still trying to assert control over North Kivu more than six years after the end of a bloody civil war.
Rebel groups and militias continue to operate in the area despite repeated attempts by the army and U.N. forces to stabilize the region. Efforts to integrate rebels into the armed forces have been only partially successful.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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