Tens of thousands raped in Congo

Fighters on all sides of Congo's war have raped civilians on a massive scale since the conflict broke out in 1998 but only a handful have ever been tried, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

"Sexual violence has shattered tens of thousands of lives in Congo, but fewer than a dozen victims have seen their assailants prosecuted," Alison Des Forges, senior advisor to HRW's Africa division, said in a report.

Sheltering in a refugee camp protected by United Nations peacekeepers with tanks and machine guns, Therese Yeda, 32, described how a militia group gang raped her last week as she walked between two villages.

"One was at the checkpoint and the others were hiding in the bushes before they jumped out and pointed their weapons at me," she said. The people she was with ran away terrified but Yeda was unable to because of all the things she was carrying.

"Ten of them had guns, the other two had machetes. All 12 of them raped me ... I am eight months pregnant but the baby doesn't seem to be moving any more," she said. Her five children were also beaten by the gunmen.

An upsurge in clashes since January has displaced 70,000 civilians in Democratic Republic of Congo's remote northeastern Ituri district, and reports of rape are frequent.

Ethnic warfare has killed more than 50,000 people in Ituri since 1999. Children as young as eight have taken part in the most recent fighting, refugees say.

STIGMA Medecins San Frontieres says it has treated over 2,500 rape victims, from 4-months old to 80 years, at its hospital in the regional capital Bunia since June 2003. The true number could be 50 times higher as victims are afraid to speak out, it says.

"We have been here for two years and we have not seen any improvement. It is so systematic -- whenever there are attacks by armed groups, there is rape," said Patrick Barbier, head of the MSF mission in the region.

"Sexual violence is so stigmatised. The victims don't come and seek medical care ... It is not taken seriously by the authorities so there is complete impunity," he said.