May 20, 2009, 10:53 GMT
Geneva - Troops in the north-eastern section of the Democratic Republic of Congo have been engaged in extortion, rapes and possibly murder of the civilian population, a United Nations humanitarian agency said Tuesday
Attacks by armed men have been on the rise since April, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported. It attributed the attacks both to the military, known as FARDC, and rebel groups such as the FDLR, which is a largely Hutu militia.
The government forces were accused of pillaging, confiscating harvests, destroying houses, extortion and 'numerous rapes,' OCHA stated.
Since the beginning of the year, a spokeswoman in Geneva said, the UN agency has noted a 'surge in sexual violence' in the South Kivu area, where troops have been accused of committed similar acts on large scales in the past.
OCHA said the sexual violence actually worsened as more FARDC troops were deployed into the area.
The FDLR has been accused of conducting at least 12 large scale attacks on civilians, destroying at least 1,128 houses.
In addition to extortion and rape, the group was being accused of using lethal force against civilians, in one instance killing 77 people in a night attack on a village. In some cases, the militia members burned people alive or hacked them to death with machetes.
The UN also warned that humanitarian organizations were coming under attack, forcing them to reduce activities 'during a time when humanitarian needs have surged in South Kivu.'
Human Rights Watch recently reported that government troops have repeatedly abused civilians. Sometimes these actions occurred even in the presence of UN peacekeepers, who were unable to stop them.
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