DR Congo armed group blamed for spike in deaths and rights violations | Voice of America

GENEVA – A UN report notes an alarming increase in human rights violations and civilian deaths in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He attributes this upsurge to increased attacks by an armed group, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

The ADF emerged as a Ugandan rebel group in the 1990s, but has been mainly active in eastern Congo in recent years.

The new report accuses ADF members of deliberately targeting civilian populations, sexually abusing them and kidnapping hundreds of civilians to perform forced labor.

The United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in the DRC said that last year, the group killed at least 849 civilians in Irumu and Mambasa territories in Ituri province as well as in Beni in North Kivu.

UN human rights observers report that the ADF also kidnapped 534 civilians, 457 of whom remain missing.

UN human rights spokeswoman Marta Hurtado said the violence continued this year. In an attack on January 13, she said unknown gunmen killed at least 14 people, including two pregnant women.

“Given the widespread and systematic nature of the attack directed against the civilian population, some of the documented human rights violations may constitute crimes against humanity. The violence takes place in a context of impunity, where few human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law are investigated and prosecuted, ”Hurtado said.

The report also accuses the government security and defense forces of human rights violations committed during the fighting against ADF members. Hurtado said the report documents numerous atrocities committed by DRC security forces.

“According to the report, from July to December 2020, 25 civilians were killed, 18 women and 10 children were victims of sexual abuse and 45 arbitrarily arrested by the security forces. From January to June 22 civilians were killed, nine women and 12 children were sexually abused and 81 were arbitrarily arrested at the hands of the security forces, ”Hurtado said.

The United Nations office calls on the DRC authorities to keep their security forces online and to ensure that they act in accordance with international humanitarian law. He also urges the government to investigate the crimes, bring the perpetrators to justice and provide humanitarian assistance to survivors, including those displaced by violence.