NEW YORK – More than 500 rapes were reported in the eastern part of Congo in July and August, and United Nations peacekeepers “failed” to prevent some of the attacks, a top official of the organisation has said.
Peacekeepers could have done more to stop a series of attacks between July 30th and August 2nd, when at least 242 women were raped by rebels in North Kivu province’s Walikale territory, Atul Khare, the UN’s deputy head of peacekeeping, told the Security Council yesterday.
“While the primary responsibility for protection of civilians lies with the state, its national army and police force, clearly, we have also failed,” Mr Khare said, according to an e-mailed statement from the UN’s press office in New York.
Mr Khare blamed poor infrastructure in the Democratic Republic of Congo, difficult terrain, limited communication, and insufficient resources for the failures.
Walikale is a mountainous region in a remote, forested part of Congo and armed groups are fighting over control of mines and trade routes, Mr Khare said.
Trade in minerals from the region has been halted since September 1st, when two pilots flying tin ore from Walikale were kidnapped by a rebel group at the region’s main airstrip. – (Bloomberg)