Brutality rife in DRC's Kivu, says UN envoy Farrow 15 Dec 2008 14:41:45 GMT Source: Reuters By Robert Evans GENEVA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Civilians in eastern Congo are suffering widespread brutality, including rape and mutilation, at the hands of rebels and government soldiers, American actress Mia Farrow, a U.N. special envoy, said on Monday. Hundreds of thousands of people in North Kivu province have been caught up in fighting between Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) troops and rebels led by renegade general Laurent Nkunda. Farrow, back from a visit to the area for the children's agency UNICEF, said the international community had to shake off its reluctance to act and take steps to protect the people of the region. "The atrocities against women and children are massive and could scarcely be more brutal or barbaric. In their own homes, people are being raped, tortured, murdered, mutilated and abducted," she told a news conference. The Kinshasa government and Nkunda deny their forces are responsible for atrocities. The actress, a UNICEF goodwill ambassador since 2000 and a campaigner for children's rights, said there was no difference between the behaviour of any side in the conflict. "The savagery of the rape, sometimes with the use of guns and bayonets, against women and girls. Even girls as young as one year old are not spared," said Farrow, reporting the accounts of those she had interviewed. Farrow said she had been told in one camp in the region, where she estimated about 1 million people had been forced to flee their homes including 200,000 since August, that "soldiers" came every afternoon to select victims to be raped. Her account echoed similar reports from U.N. officials, non-governmental organisations) working in the DRC and independent human rights bodies. On Dec. 1, the U.N.'s 47-nation Human Rights Council, which is effectively controlled by developing countries which generally shield each other from serious criticism, condemned the Congo violence and called for more support for the 17,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission, MONUC. Farrow echoed criticism of major powers by aid activists who said they had failed to act quickly to beef up MONUC, although the U.N. Security Council had agreed to send an extra 3,000 troops to improve protection for civilians. (For more information on humanitarian crises and issues visit www.alertnet.org ) (Editing by Jonathan Lynn and Katie Nguyen)
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