North Kivu (DRC) : dozens of displaced women were raped in Rutshuru and Nyiragongo

There are 28 recent cases of women who fled the fighting in the territories of Rutshuru and Nyiragongo and who accused local militias maintained by the Congolese authorities known as Wazalendo and the M23 rebels of having raped them. These rapes took place when they went to look for food in the Kanyarutchinya and Don Bosco camps in Nyiragongo.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

These are women whose ages range from 28 to 60 years old who have been victims of sexual violence in different places in the Rutshuru territory.

SOS Médias Burundi contacted them through the Organization of displaced women and children who have suffered from sexual violence in the Nyiragongo territory.

Almost all are displaced people from the Rugari groupment in Rutshuru, others from the rural district of Kibumba in Nyiragongo territory. They are housed in the Kanyarutshinya-Don Bosco camp.

Due to poor living conditions of the displaced in this camp, they are forced to return home to look for ways to support their families.

“I went to look for food at my home in Rugari in Kanyabuhoho village. Along the way, I met four men in khaki-colored military uniforms. They asked me to lie on the ground. I did so and one of them directly made me take off my clothes. I complied because a gun was pointed at my head. They raped me one after the other. They spoke Kinyarwanda. I lost consciousness and woke up four hours later. It was passers-by who saved me,” testified a female victim.

Another woman says that after experiencing sexual violence, her husband rejected her and did not want her to come home again.

“I was raped by around ten men when I went to get food. When I returned, my husband did not want me to return to the house at the Don Bosco camp where I have been staying since April 2023. Until now, I have no contact with my husband who no longer wants see me,” the victim insisted.

These women say they have suffered serious physical after-effects due to the lack of medical assistance.

One of the biggest problems women face is the lack of adequate medical care, especially in areas where they have been displaced for more than two years.

Libérata Buratwa Rubumba, director of the Organization of women fleeing violence in various camps, reported that the number of women victims of abuse has increased significantly compared to the past.

“Here we managed to identify more than 70 displaced women who were raped in just one month. This is not the exact number because several victims are in the camp and do not want to talk about it. Since the resumption of clashes in Rutshuru and Masisi, cases of sexual violence have increased significantly unlike other days in the past. What is deplorable is that the government is not looking for possible solutions to support these women,” she regretted.

M23 and Wazalendo rebels singled out

The Rugari grouoment in Rutshuru territory where most of the rapes were recorded is in the hands of the M23 rebels who control all the localities and villages.

In the rural district of Kibumba in Nyiragongo, part is under the control of local militias commonly called Wazalendo, another is led by elements of the M23.

Victims reported being raped by Wazalendo and M23 rebels.

“It is the M23 and Wazalendo rebels who are raping us because some call us Rwandans, others say we are Nyatura, FDLR or Mai-Mai. There are no FARDC elements in the area,” said a victim.

However, the M23 rejects these accusations. Instead, it accuses Wazalendo and the FARDC of being the perpetrators of rapes against women.

The Wazalendo militias in turn refute these allegations and point the finger at the M23.

Last March, organizations defending children’s and women’s rights published a report attesting that since the start of the war in the DRC, more than 25,000 women have been raped and 50,000 have been victims of various forms of violence.

International human rights organizations have expressed concern over what they call the “greatest sexual violence against women” in eastern DR Congo since fighting erupted between armed groups operating in eastern DRC that are fighting against the Congolese army.

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Women protest against sexual violence in Congo, March 1, 2024