"In the North and South Kivu provinces, we are receiving horrific reports of grave violations against children by parties to the conflict, including rape and other forms of sexual violence at levels surpassing anything we have seen in recent years,” UNICEF's Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.
The U.N. children’s fund on Thursday accused armed men, likely on both sides of the conflict in eastern Congo, of raping scores of children over the past weeks as rebels expand their footprint and push government forces out.
Last week, the United Nations Human Rights Council launched a commission that will investigate atrocities, including rapes and public killings committed by both the Congolese army and the M23 rebels in the region since the beginning of the year.
Health facilities in the restive region reported during the week from Jan. 27 to Feb. 2 a total of 572 rape cases — more than a fivefold increase compared to the week before, Lianne Gutcher, UNICEF's communication chief in Congo, told The Associated Press.
The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels are the most prominent among more than 100 armed groups vying for control of Congo’s mineral-rich east in a decades-long conflict that has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
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