A human rights group says civilians in eastern and northern DemocraticRepublic of Congo are under increasing attack from all sides of theconflicts raging there between Congolese and rebel forces. Human RightsWatch alleges that the United Nations-backed Congolese army is failingto protect civilians from the rebel forces and is committing its ownacts of atrocities against the local population.
The alleged acts of abuseagainst civilians in the region include the burning of villages, sexualassaults, killings, abductions, and forced labor.
TheCongolese army has been fighting the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army, orLRA, in northern Congo since December and the Hutu Democratic Forcesfor the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR, in eastern Congo since January.
Thetwo outside rebel forces are deliberately attacking civilians as amilitary tactic and are responsible for the vast majority of thecivilian deaths in the area. According to Human Rights Watch, the FDLRhas killed more than 400 civilians and the LRA more than 1,000civilians since the fighting began.
Human Rights Watch accusesthe Congolese army of failing to protect civilians from the two rebelforces and of being involved civilian killings itself. The organizationalso found that Congolese forces are illegally conscripting the localpopulation into forced labor.
The local civilians continue tosuffer from widespread instances of rape by the Congolese forces. Sincethe start of military operations in January, the human rights groupfound that the rates of rape cases have doubled and tripled across theregion.
Allegations of abuse by the Congolese army raisequestions about the role of the U.N. peacekeepers in the regionassigned in March to logistically support the Congolese forces.
AnnekeVan Woudenberg, a Congo researcher for Human Rights Watch, says thatthe U.N. peacekeepers' relative inaction towards stopping the humanrights violations of their partner is unacceptable.
"Whatworries us is that there has been limited attempt by U.N. peacekeepersto try to reduce the abuses by the Congolese army," said VanWoudenberg. "They need to take urgent steps to try and reduce theabuses or they will risk becoming complicit in those abuses."
U.N. officials in Congo were not able to be reached for comment.
Inone instance on May 10, it is alleged that the FDLR killed 86 civilians- the majority of whom were women and children - in the town ofBusurungi. This attack was possibly in retaliation for a Congoleseattack in late April against an FDLR position of Rwandan refugees nearBusurungi.
The LRA, known for its tactic of abducting civiliansto fill its ranks, appears to be behind the spike in adult and childabductions in the area.
Human Rights Watch researchers haveundertaken nine missions to the region since January to monitor thesituation on the ground.
It is estimated that more than onemillion people in the region have been displaced in the region sincethis round of fighting began.