New York,06 Aug-(ANA)-The UN has sent some 40 teams to the Democratic Republic ofCongo (DRC) followingreports of widespread rape and other atrocitiesin the eastern
Kivu provinces.
The move is to bolster the protection of civilians, the UN says, adding that by identifying early warning signs of potential threats to civilians the joint UN teams will allow peacekeepers to react rapidly to counter them.
The teams were set up earlier this year to help stem abuses in North and South
Kivu provinces where Rwandan rebels have been active since the 1994 genocide in
the small neighbouring country where an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate
Hutus were killed by Hutu extremists.
In his most recent report to the Security Council on sexual violence in armed
conflict, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted last month that at least 200,000
cases of such abuse had been recorded in eastern DRC since 1996. (ANA)