FIZI, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 23 (UPI) -- The United Nations said Thursday it was investigating reports of the mass rape of at least 60 women in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
A group of former rebels looted villages in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo near the town of Fizi June 10-12, raping at least 60 women, Jean-Marie Ngoma, a member of the provincial parliament in South Kivu, told Radio Okapi Thursday.
Ngoma said the attackers are believed to be from a former rebel unit that joined the army as part of a peace agreement and deserted June 9, the BBC reported.
Nine men from the unit, commanded by Col. Kifaru Niragiye, were recently convicted of a mass rape in Fizi that took place on New Year's Day. The colonel, who was not with the unit at the time, was not charged, but his deputy was found guilty.
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Martin Nesirky, a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, told reporters the United Nations has received "several worrying reports about incidents of an unknown number of alleged rapes and looting committed in the Nyakiele area in South Kivu" and the U.N. mission in the DRC was sending a team of peacekeepers to the area, which is an 8-hour journey by foot from the nearest U.N. military base.
Megan Hunter of Doctors Without Borders said at least 100 people have come forward to report rapes and physical assaults. Ngoma said the attackers stole animals and personal property, looted the health center and then forced local residents to carry the stolen items for them.
The DRC has been plagued for years by civil war, some of it stemming from disputes spilling across the border from Rwanda and Burundi.
