Rape still a problem in the Congo

BUNIA, Republic of the Congo, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- The United Nations says rape continues to be a problem in the northeastern portion of the Congo despite an end to military activity.

The U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has been receiving reports from aid workers that rapes are being carried out by civilians as well as members of the military.

A report released last November said since 2003, between 30 and 500 persons reported sexual assaults each month in Ituri.

"The statistics do not give the real picture on the ground," says Marie-Louise Uronya, head of the Office for Gender, Family and Children in Ituri.

In an effort to reduce cases of rape and sexual violence, the U.N. conducts inquests into all reported cases involving agents of the state and takes perpetrators to court.

At least 30 boys, some as young as 14, have been detained on rape charges at the central prison in Bunia.