Congolese armed forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have brutally killed hundreds of civilians and committed widespread rape in the past three months in a military operation backed by the United Nations.
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The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) trial of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is scheduled to begin on January 26, 2009 in The Hague. Another Congolese warlord sought by the ICC, Bosco Ntaganda, remains at large.
Lubanga, the former leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia who operated in the district of Ituri in northeastern Congo, is [...]

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Combatants of the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) brutally massacred at least 620 civilians and abducted more than 160 children between December 24 and January 13 in northern Democratic Republic of Congo, said Human Rights Watch and Justice Plus, a Congolese human rights organization. Many of the victims were killed or abducted in three simultaneous [...]

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The UN Security Council should respond to escalating violations against children in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, including the recruitment of child soldiers and sexual violence, said Human Rights Watch in a letter sent on December 10, 2008, to Security Council members. The Security Council’s working group on children and armed conflict is expected to [...]

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As a regional attack on the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) unfolds, all parties should respect international humanitarian law and LRA leaders accused of war crimes who surrender or are captured should be brought to trial.
According to news reports on December 14, 2008, Ugandan, Congolese, and Southern Sudanese [...]

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The European Union should urgently send a “bridging” force to eastern Congo to help UN peacekeepers stop further attacks on civilians, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The 30-page report, “Killings in Kiwanja: The UN’s Inability to Protect Civilians,” details the killing of an estimated 150 people [...]

Tags: DR Congo, EU

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“We have been abandoned. Who will protect us? Who will help us?”
In late August 2008, the Congolese army (FARDC) and the rebel group, the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), resumed heavy fighting in the most recent episode of more than a decade of war in eastern Congo. The Congolese army was [...]

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Civilians in eastern DRC need more than half measures
The population of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo need actions that will bring an end to repetitive cycles of gross human rights violations, rather than mere words, Amnesty International said today. The organization’s call came as the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) unanimously adopted a [...]

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Every day, 40 women are raped in the Eastern Congo. It’s a well-known reality that has been documented and reported by media, NGOs, international institutions and States. But nothing changes, sexual violence is still widespread. So what more can be done?
The Congolese Women’s Campaign Against Sexual Violence in the DRC raises an enraged cry of [...]

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Congolese state security forces have killed an estimated 500 people and detained about 1,000 more, many of whom have been tortured, in the two years since elections that were meant to bring democracy. The brutal repression against perceived opponents began during the 2006 elections that carried President Joseph Kabila to power, and has continued to [...]

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