KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, July 8 (UPI) -- An army official accused of mass rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo surrendered to authorities after hiding in his eastern stronghold, officials said.
Lt. Col. Vianney Kazarama, a spokesman for the DRC military, told the BBC that Col. Nyiragire Kulimushi, accused of mass rapes in the country, surrendered to authorities along with dozens of his fighters.
"There were 150 of them, with their weapons, including heavy weapons," the spokesman said.
Almost 100 women in the eastern South Kivu province last month accused former rebels, who were now in the military, of sexual assault.
The spokesman said the colonel and his fighters would remain at a military base until U.N. authorities are finished with an investigation into the rape allegations.
The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the U.N. peacekeeping mission the DRC in a report published this week said rape as a weapon of war was a violation of international law.
The joint report said the attacks in the DRC "could constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes" because they appeared to be coordinated in advance.
Human rights investigations found there were thousands of reported rape cases in the DRC last year.
