AFP
12h30 UTC
Oct 31, 2008
GENEVA (AFP) — The UN's top human rights official on Friday slammed government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo for lootings, killings and rapes in the city of Goma amid fears of a humanitarian disaster.
"Over the past few days, a number of fresh violations have been recorded by UN human rights staff in the region," with government forces being the main perpetrators, Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay said in a statement.
Congo rebels agreed on Thursday to open humanitarian corridors near the besieged city of Goma in the eastern Nord-Kivu province, but aid agencies warned of a "catastrophe" as terrified residents recounted tales of rape, looting and murder.
An AFP reporter was shown the bodies of seven civilians, including two women. All were killed by Congolese soldiers on a looting binge, said landlord Jospeh Ndakola.
UN rights officials also heard accounts of abuse by out-of-control government troops, including one soldier killing a man and his eight-year-old son, and other troops shooting a barman because he failed to serve them quickly enough, Pillay's office said.
"What happened in Goma should not have happened, as most violations were committed by looting soldiers belonging to the government forces," she said.
"I urge the government to take swift and significant action to control their soldiers and protect the civilian population," she added.
Pillay's statement also accused rebel forces of rights abuses, such as firing indiscriminately at a clinic where government soldiers had fled.
Rebel forces have captured several key towns in eastern Congo over the past week, sparking a mass exodus from the countryside and risking what UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called a humanitarian crisis of "catastrophic dimensions."
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jRIyqmw5qVDr2379OWPi8CVCG42Q
Comment : see http://www.sott.net/articles/show/164888-Congo-The-Human-Cost-of-Cheap-Cell-Phones too
12h30 UTC
Oct 31, 2008
GENEVA (AFP) — The UN's top human rights official on Friday slammed government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo for lootings, killings and rapes in the city of Goma amid fears of a humanitarian disaster.
"Over the past few days, a number of fresh violations have been recorded by UN human rights staff in the region," with government forces being the main perpetrators, Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay said in a statement.
Congo rebels agreed on Thursday to open humanitarian corridors near the besieged city of Goma in the eastern Nord-Kivu province, but aid agencies warned of a "catastrophe" as terrified residents recounted tales of rape, looting and murder.
An AFP reporter was shown the bodies of seven civilians, including two women. All were killed by Congolese soldiers on a looting binge, said landlord Jospeh Ndakola.
UN rights officials also heard accounts of abuse by out-of-control government troops, including one soldier killing a man and his eight-year-old son, and other troops shooting a barman because he failed to serve them quickly enough, Pillay's office said.
"What happened in Goma should not have happened, as most violations were committed by looting soldiers belonging to the government forces," she said.
"I urge the government to take swift and significant action to control their soldiers and protect the civilian population," she added.
Pillay's statement also accused rebel forces of rights abuses, such as firing indiscriminately at a clinic where government soldiers had fled.
Rebel forces have captured several key towns in eastern Congo over the past week, sparking a mass exodus from the countryside and risking what UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called a humanitarian crisis of "catastrophic dimensions."
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jRIyqmw5qVDr2379OWPi8CVCG42Q
Comment : see http://www.sott.net/articles/show/164888-Congo-The-Human-Cost-of-Cheap-Cell-Phones too
