UN implicated in war crimes in Congo: HRW

A top human rights group says the UN mission in Congo (MONUC) has done nothing to stop Congolese troops from killing civilians in the east of the country.

Human Rights Watch said in a report that the UN peacekeeping force in the area did nothing to stop the soldiers from decapitating men and raping young girls.

“MONUC's continued willingness to provide support for such abusive military operations implicates them in violations of the laws of war,” the report stated.

The group has accused the Congolese military of killing more than 500 civilians over the past few months in the region.

“Some Congolese army soldiers are committing war crimes by viciously targeting the very people they should be protecting.”

In the eastern Congo, the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and Hutu extremists of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) have caused untold suffering for thousands of civilians.

Congo launched an offensive in January against the militias, which have been destabilizing the Great Lakes region for years. Some of the guerillas even participated in the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

The eastern Congo has experienced interminable cycles of violence since the war began in 1998. The conflict has dragged on for over a decade and left over 5.4 million people dead.

(Source: Press TV) -

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