ICRC: Rape 'a weapon of war'
30/11/2007 07:25  - (SA)  

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Geneva - Rape has become a "weapon of war" in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the army has been fighting insurgents, an International Committee of the Red Cross official says.

Dominik Stillhart, the ICRC's deputy operations director, said: "There are clearly indications that this type of violence is a weapon of war, that this is a weapon of terrorising the population, of intimidating the population."

Stillhart, who spoke with reporters in Geneva, recently visited violence-torn Nord-Kivu province in the central African nation's east.

He said: "What shocked me most is the systematic violence against girls and women. I have never seen such a phenomenon so widespread."

The country's army had massed more than 20 000 troops in the region, which had fought some 4 000 insurgent soldiers loyal to ex-general Laurent Nkunda. Heavy clashes took place since the end of August.

145 000 people displaced

Villagers had been displaced by fighting not only between the army and Nkunda, who claimed to be protecting the minority Congolese Tutsi population, but also between Mai-Mai militia and Hutu rebels from Rwanda, who were hostile to Nkunda.

At least 145 000 people had been displaced for the last three months, said the ICRC.

The ICRC could not provide figures on the number of rape victims, but Stillhart said a counselling centre opened by the organisation had seen more than a 100 people a month, including boys and men.

He said: "We talk to all the groups about the phenomenon and we do, whenever we have concrete practical information, direct interventions with the groups that have perpetrated sexual violence."

He said they attempted to remind the perpetrators of "their obligation under international law to spare the civilian population from that kind of violence".

"They definitely listen. Whether these interventions have an impact is of course a different question," said Stillhart.

The organisation had decided to double its staff on the ground, which included 10 expatriate employees.

It also wanted to raise its DRC budget by two million Swiss francs, with the budget at $28m for 2007. It had received only 20 million Swiss francs from donors so far.

- AFP

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