'Atrocious' rapes in DRC war
2003-11-04 14:37
Geneva - United Nations relief workers are finding thousands of women who have suffered "atrocious rapes" during five years of civil war in Congo, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.
"Never before have we found as many victims of rape in conflict situations as we are discovering now," said Christiane Berthiaume, spokeswoman for the World Food Programme.
"Thousands of women who have been atrociously raped are coming to health centres for treatment," she added. "We strongly fear that it is only the tip of the iceberg."
UN officials, joined by actress Jessica Lange, have expressed alarm previously about the rapes committed by the warring factions in Congo, but Berthiaume said a peace accord has shown the situation was worse than feared.
"We have been able to gain access to more regions and vulnerable people who have been hidden and now are arriving in cities in search of help, food and care," Berthiaume said.
She said relief workers estimate that for every woman who has sought treatment, 30 more either remain in hiding or have been unable to travel the long distances to health centers.
'Systematically' raped
"These are women and girls from five to 80 years old who have been systematically raped a number of times, tortured and shot," Berthiaume said.
Some have walked 300km suffering from bad wounds, including bullet holes in their vaginas, burst bladders and broken legs, she said.
Many have been rejected by their husbands, others will never be able to have children again and a number are too weak from hunger to be able to withstand an operation, Berthiaume said.
She said the United Nations is distributing food to women in Goma and Bukavu so that they can save their money for surgery.
"Some must undergo several operations to repair the damage," Berthiaume said.
Lange, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund, spent a week in the region last August as a French-led international force finished securing the Bunia area and handed over supervision to UN peacekeepers.
She called the Congo situation "the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet and the worst documented war in the history of Africa".
Civil war broke out in Congo in August 1998 when Uganda and Rwanda sent troops to back rebels seeking to oust then-President Laurent Kabila.
- AP