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Human Rights Watch today published accounts by eight persons who have suffered and witnessed horrifying abuses in the ongoing armed conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, including rapes, killings, and forced recruitment of child soldiers.
Over the years, this war has involved various national and local armies and rebel movements, but there is always one constant: abuse against civilians by all parties.
In late August 2008, the Congolese army (FARDC) and the rebel National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) resumed heavy fighting, the most recent episode of more than a decade of war in eastern Congo. The Congolese army was sometimes aided by Congolese militia known as Mai Mai and PARECO, as well as by a Rwandan armed group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), some of whose leaders participated in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
“People who have seen their lives destroyed by the seemingly endless fighting in the Congo are desperate to have their voices heard,” said Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior researcher on the Democratic Republic of Congo for Human Rights Watch. “Many world leaders have said they accept responsibility to protect civilians at risk of imminent death. These cries for help should push these leaders to put their words into action.”
To read the accounts, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/12/04/victim-statements-eastern-democratic-republic-congo
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on the Democratic Republic of Congo, please see:· Special feature: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/features/congo_for_launch/index.html · Country page: http://www.hrw.org/en/africa/democratic-republic-congo
For more information, please contact:
In Congo, Anneke Van Woudenberg (English, French): +44-77-11-66-4960 (mobile)
In Brussels, Alison Des Forges (English, French): +32-2-732-2009 (office)
In New York, Georgette Gagnon (English): +1-212-216-1223; or +1-917-535-0375 (mobile)
In Washington, DC, Jon Elliott (English, French): +1-202-612-4348; or +1-703-975-3240 (mobile)
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