By Polly Johnson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
FIZI, Democratic Republic of Congo – An army commander and seven other soldiers were accused and arrested yesterday for their alleged involvement in mass rapes that occurred in the eastern town of Fizi, in South Kivu province, on the evening of January 1.
Fifty women came forward to report the rapes. According to Madnodge Mounoubai, a spokesman for MONUSCO, the United Nations’ mission in DRC, the attacks were committed after a drunken soldier in a bar fired at a civilian; angry residents then killed the soldier.
“After he got killed, his colleagues heard that he was killed and they came and went on a rampage in the village. They started to loot the village, to loot the stores and to rape the women,” Mounoubai said.
A report sent to Fizi by MONUSCO accused Lieutenant Colonel Kibibi Mutware of directing the attack. Locals claimed to have witnessed him order the attack. Kibibi has denied the allegations.
Médécins Sans Frontières said women had been restrained by ropes or beaten with rifle butts before being attacked. MSF also said that it had treated more than thirty women for injuries they suffered during the attacks.
The arrested soldiers will be put on trial as early as next week. U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said that the ten detained soldiers would be tried in a Fizi court.
Rape has become a frequent weapon of war in eastern Congo, used by soldiers to intimidate and break down community structure. It is often blamed on Congo’s regular army.
Amnesty International said that the Fizi rapes constitute “another telling example of the consequences of the virtual impunity the Congolese forces benefit from.
“The failure to hold the Congolese army to account when they fail to carry out their protection role or commit crimes themselves in turn encourages further violations.”
Last summer, rebel forces in eastern Congo raped hundreds of people. According to Amnesty, which welcomed the arrests in the Fizi rapes, “more often than not investigations in the DRC are never brought to a conclusion. A recent example of this is the investigation into the mass rapes that occurred in Walikale, North Kivu, in August 2010 which have now stalled.”
For more information, please see:
Al Jazeera – Troops held over DR Congo mass rape – 19 January 2011
Guardian – Congolese army commander accused of directing mass rape – 19 January 2011
IPS – Soldiers accused of rape arrested – 19 January 2011
Reuters – Congo to try government troops accused of rape – 19 January 2011
Telegraph – DR Congo mass rape suspects arrested – 19 January 2011
