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DR Congo

DRC: Human rights situation in Feb 2006

MONUC Human Rights Division

18 mar. 06 - 22.05h - The Congolese army (FARDC) were responsible for the majority of human rights violations under investigation by MONUC in February 2006, many of these violations were serious and were committed in the context of ongoing military operations in the District of Ituri and the Provinces of North and South Kivu.

Acts of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment against civilians by the Presidential Guard (GR) and torture by the police were reported in three provinces. MONUC remains concerned by the continuing incidents of rape by members of the security forces. Two death sentences were passed after trials that did not conform to international standards and armed group were responsible for abuses against the civilian population in three Provinces.

1. Ongoing military operations in the Ituri District, North and South Kivu and Katanga were the context for several reported serious human rights violations. Civilians bore the brunt of the violence. At least 13 civilians were allegedly shot dead and two others wounded by the army, as they were attending morning mass in Nyata church in Kagaba -- 25 km south of Bunia on 22 January 2006. Among the victims were two infants and four women. The FARDC had been deployed in the area for two days prior to the attack, although the local population was not aware of any militia activity in the area. Eyewitnesses spoke of the presence of members of the 4th and 6th Brigades among the soldiers who opened fire in the church, indicating that the perpetrators were from an integrated brigade. Three women were reportedly killed in Byro, a locality near to Kagaba the following day.

2. FARDC military allegedly extrajudicially executed four civilians in Mrebu groupement, near Nioki in Mahagi Territory (Ituri.) Two of these civilians, an elderly "wise man" and his son were killed in Mbale locality on 11 February. Six houses and a chapel were ransacked and set alight by the soldiers. Later, four young men were abducted at Londoni to carry stolen goods; two of these were reportedly extrajudically executed at Dheru, where the soldiers were based. The two other abductees have also "disappeared."

3. In North Kivu, at least 40 rapes were reportedly committed during the occupation of Kibirizi -- 144 km north of Goma- by dissident FARDC 83rd Brigade troops loyal to ex-officer Laurent Nkunda from 22 January -- 6 February 2006. According to a medical worker in a local clinic -- 98 cases of rape have been registered since the beginning of the year. The majority of the victims are girls aged from 12 to 18 years old and members of the Nande and Hunde ethnic groups. Local authorities in Kanyabayonga claim that at least 40 women IDPS from Kibirizi had been raped before fleeing the occupied town. Widespread looting also took place at Kibirizi and two houses were also burned by the occupiers. Two women and two girls were allegedly raped by soldiers of the 83rd Brigade at Birundule - 16 km from Kanyabayonga -- on 12 February 2006. Looting by these soldiers is also alleged to have occurred in the villages of Birundule and Bulindi - 35km from Kanyabayonga. On 12 February 2006, a civilian from Bulindi -16km from Kanyabayonga, was allegedly beaten by members of the 83rd Brigade after the victim complained about the looting of produce from his fields.

4. A demobilized soldier was beaten to death before being "crucified" on a tree by soldiers of the FARDC 83rd Brigade. The incident reportedly occurred on 26 January 2006 at Bishusha in Masisi Territory, North Kivu. The victim was reportedly killed because he "deserted the army and left the RCD.

5. In Goma, two Tutsi civilians were arrested by Military Police on 31 January 2006 accused of being collaborators of Laurent Nkunda. The police officers harassed them and exposed them to mob justice. The victims were hospitalised after being stoned by the local population.

6. During the night of 19 to 20 February, the area known as « fishery » in Vitchumbi -132 km north of Goma- was reportedly ransacked by approximately 35 soldiers. A solider posted locally was shot dead, and a civilian received bullet wounds. On 15 February 2006, the village of Katwiguru - 101km north of Goma was the scene of fighting between the FDLR and the 5th Integrated Brigade, whose soldiers accused the population of conniving with the FDLR. In reprisal they set 87 local homesteads alight, killing one woman. On 16 February, members of this Brigade based in Nyakakoma, looted a neighbourhood known as Nyaruhanga at Nyamilima village.

7. Two captured combatants allegedly "disappeared" after being taken into FARDC custody in Beni on 8 February. Both men were Congolese, although belonging to ADF/NALU. FARDC commanders deny the fact of disappearance; however, the detainees have not been located by the HRD.

8. In the village of Tshonka in Shabunda territory -- 150 km west of Bukavu- the local population complained of human rights violations committed by soldiers in the area. Two elderly civilians claimed that they were beaten with truncheons and arbitrarily detained for one hour on 2 February 2006, by soldiers on the pretext that they were in contact with a dissident FARDC soldier (ex Mayi Mayi).

9. Three detainees have been "held for questioning" since 18 September 2005 in Bagira Military camp in South Kivu. The military prosecutor has promised to raise this case with the 10th MR. At Nindja -- 75 km west of Bukavu, a group of 17 civilians was reportedly arrested by the FARDC, who accused them of being in connivance with the FDLR, on 6 February. The detainees were reportedly held in holes in the ground at an unknown location.

10. Reports of sexual violence by military continue in South Kivu. A 70-year-old woman was allegedly raped by two FARDC soldiers after they had broken into her private residence in Lunyenya -- approximately 80 km south-west of Bukavu -- on 26 January 2006. A local official claimed that soldiers were responsible for the rape of 19 women on 5 and 8 February 2006 on a road between Kalong and Mule -- approximately 70 km north of Bukavu. On 5 February, six women were attacked on the road, and then a further 13, including a 12-year-old girl, were attacked three days later. Two women were reportedly raped by soldiers on 9 February at Mukungwe -- 60km south-west of Bukavu. A woman was allegedly raped by a FARDC soldier on 11 February 2006 in Luntukulu - 77 km south-west of Bukavu. The victim was reportedly captured by the soldier while she was walking near the local military camp. On 14 February, a 17-year-old girl was reportedly abducted and raped by a FARDC commander in Kazinzi -- 60 south-west of Bukavu. FARDC military based in Mukungwe - 60 km south west of Bukavu- are responsible for the rape of eleven women in a number of incidents that took place from 9 to 13 February 2006.

11. Reports of rape continue in Ituri. Two students at a boarding school in Ngote- just outside Mahagi- were allegedly raped by a group of FARDC military who broke into the premises in the night of 2 to 3 February 2006. A civilian had treatment for gunshot wounds, allegedly after she resisted a rape attempt by a soldier on 7 February 2006 in Nyamamba -- 15 km north of Tchomia in the Ituri District. Another woman was reportedly raped by a soldier on 9 February on a road 13km north of Mahagi.

12. In Lubumbashi, some 44 individuals suspected to be Mayi Mayi Militia members, are held at Kasapa Prison. Forty one of these detainees, who are at the disposition of the military justice system (although held in a civilian prison), arrived in mid-December last year; they include a woman and two minors. The female detainee, who claims to be a customary chief, alleges that she and her family were arrested by the FARDC after they fled a Mayi Mayi attack on their village. Charges are yet to be made against these detainees.

13. FARDC military in the province carried out summary acts of justice in several provinces. On 9 February 2006, four soldiers arbitrarily arrested and detained a civilian in Beni, after he was denounced for a theft. The victim was allegedly subjected to severe beating by tree branches in the presence of his employer who had denounced him. He was subsequently flogged on three other occasions in order to force him to confess. He was released on 11 February, after paying a US$95 to senior FARDC officers. The marks on his body were consistent with his allegations.

14. A civilian claims to have been shot in the leg by soldiers, allegedly after the victim managed to escape from a military camp where he was detained after refusing to carry out forced labour for the military. According to the victim, he escaped from a camp in Rwahwa -- 17 km from Butembo- a day after his arrest on 25 January 2006. On 27 January, he was caught by soldiers in his home, where they opened fire and shot him.

15. Two women claimed they were subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by FARDC soldiers at Military Camp PM Bagira -- 15 km north of Bukavu -- who accused them of killing a soldier by poisoning him. The soldiers allegedly used knives, belts and stones to wound the victims. The wife of the deceased soldier was stabbed in the face when she tried to stop soldiers from beating her mother who had already been stoned.

16. Five civilians were allegedly subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, apparently on the orders of the military prosecutor, by soldiers who arbitrarily arrested them in Djabir -- 168 km west of Kisangani - in the night of 16 January 2006. Soldiers broke into a family residence, then tied and beat the victims, who were then handed over to a government administrator who subjected them to further cruel treatment over a 15 day period. They were later transported to Kisangani without being informed of the motive for their arrest. They were released from the Auditorat Militaire in Kisangani without charge four days after.

17. In Kisangani, a man and his wife were allegedly seriously beaten by FARDC soldiers of the 9th Military Region after having been accused of stealing the electricity from the nearby military camp on 2 February 2006. The woman is undergoing medical treatment. When the man tried to file a complaint with the Military Prosecutor's office, an administrative official simply extorted 3000FC from him, without permitting him to meet the prosecutor.

18. Three civilians were subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, arbitrary arrest and extortion by six soldiers and an ANR official in Lubao -- 91 km north of Kindu -- on 12 January 2005, according to a local NGO. The victims were targeted because of debt with a creditor equivalent to 60 bottles of cooking oil. After being alerted, the head of the ANR ordered six soldiers to arrest the three. During their arrest they were reportedly beaten and tied and detained without charge over a 24 hour period. They were released after each one of them paid the ANR a bribe of US$12.

19. Military were also responsible for a number of violent incidents connected to theft and extortion. A civilian allegedly received death threats and was injured in his right thigh by armed soldiers in the night of 30-31 January 2006 in the neighbourhood of Matanda in Butembo. The perpetrators stopped and searched him, before confiscating his personal belongings. The victim was shot at while he tried to escape. After the shooting, the perpetrators fled with victim's motorbike.

20. According to local sources, five armed FARDC soldiers allegedly broke into a private residence in the village of Mabaka -- 21 km north of Beni -- on the night of 27 January 2006. They beat up the owner and looted the property, before gang-raping a woman they found in one of the rooms. The alleged perpetrators were arrested by the Military Prosecutor's office.

21. Three civilians were reportedly killed and another seriously injured by FARDC soldiers in Mukungwe -- 60 km south-west of Bukavu -- on 21 February 2006, according to a local source. The soldiers reportedly fired at the civilians after an unsuccessful attempt to extort money from them.

22. On 21 January 2006, a family was stopped by three FARDC soldiers at the barrier of Buta airport, and the father was beaten when he resisted their attempts to extort goods from him. His son was injured on his arm. Following this incident, the soldiers sought reinforcements, before pursuing the victim to his house, where he was tied up and severely beaten with sticks and bamboo by three soldiers. Despite filing a formal complaint with the military prosecutor, no action has been taken.

23. A woman received reportedly gunshot injuries, after soldiers opened fire in her house in Pinga locality -- approximately 50 km south of Bunia- on 16 February 2006. The woman's father, a local priest, managed to arrest the perpetrator and tried to hand him over to his commanding officers in Olongba the following morning. However, instead of arresting the perpetrator, the FARDC commander arrested the priest and his daughter. The priest was transferred to the military post in Kagaba where he has been detained ever since.

24. On 17 January 2006, a civilian was allegedly wounded by soldiers in the MIBA polygone in Mbuji Mayi. According to the victim, he was in the polygone to dig for diamonds. A group of soldiers started shooting at diggers in the concession, injuring the victim in his right thigh.

25. Three civilians claim to be the victims of an attempted extrajudicial execution by FARDC military in Kasai Oriental Province. According to the victims, who were digging at Katotshi mine in Bena Tshitolo -- 35km from Mbuji Mayi- they were shot at by FARDC soldiers. The incident appears to be linked to a dispute between two clans over the ownership of a recently discovered diamond deposit.

26. A woman was allegedly shot dead by four soldiers around midnight on 11 February in the village of Bena Kalongo -- 20 km from Mwene Ditu in Kasai Oriental Province. The incident took place outside her home as she returned from a wake to find soldiers there. After being warned not to approach, the victim was shot in the head. Following protests, two members of the family were arrested on 13 February and taken to a military holding cell at Lufalanga in Mbuji Mayi, where they were allegedly subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, including burns from lighted cigarettes.

27. A group of seven armed FARDC soldiers allegedly raped a woman in Kananga on 20 February 2006. The perpetrators broke into the victim's house, tied up her husband and took all the valuables. The victim was forced to transport the stolen items and was raped on the way. A neighbour who tried to help the woman was seriously beaten.

28. Soldiers are violating the right to physical integrity in rural Maniema. A civilian from the village of Kalongosola was allegedly whipped by a military bodyguard on 25 January 2006, on the orders of a village chief who felt that his authority had been challenged by the victim. To secure his release, the victim's family was obliged to hand over a goat.

29. Cases of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment possible amounting to torture committed by police officers have been under investigation in three provinces this month. On 8 February 2006, FARDC soldiers in the presence of police officers and the administrative head of the village of Buramba -- approximately 50 km north of Goma, allegedly arrested and severely mistreated eight civilians suspected of robbery. At the local police station they were allegedly subjected to beatings and burns from molten rubber. The detainees were released on 10 February.

30. In Katanga, a local NGO reports that the administrative head of the village of Kitembwe -- 65 km from Moba -- was arrested by four PNC officers in his residence on 10 January 2006. After the arrest the detainee was seriously kicked and beaten by rifle butts. He has injuries on his legs consistent with the allegations. He was arrested on the charges of illegal acquisition of food stuffs, usurpation of power, possession of firearms and assassination attempt.

31. A civilian was allegedly severely beaten by three PNC officers at the Police Station in Bafwasende -- approximately 250 km north-east of Kisangani -- on 23 February 2006. The source claims to have seen the victim covered with severe and bleeding wounds on the victim's back, buttocks, backside of knees, ankles and finger-joints which are reportedly the result of beating with a stick.

32. Arbitrary arrests by police have been reported in South Kivu. The Police Commander in Runingu- 20 km north of Uvira -- arbitrarily arrested three civilians on 5 February 2006. They were accused of collaboration with the FNL and transferred to Uvira. The detainees claimed to have been kicked at the time of their arrest. They were released without charge on 15 February.

33. "Street children" were arrested in Bukavu on 4 February 2006, when the Mayor ordered police to secure the city, after a protest following the death of a man in the hands of the Port Security Police. A total of 51 arrests were carried out, 23 children were released later the same day. Twenty-eight civilians were transferred from police custody to Bukavu central prison.

34. Three cases of human rights violations by the Garde Républicaine (GR) have been under investigation. In Bukavu, a civilian died, allegedly after being subjected to severe cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by the GR. A witness claimed that GR soldiers beat a civilian and a minor while they were under arrest on suspicion of theft at the GR post in the Mwanzi area on 4 February 2006. Both victims were reportedly tied and beaten, one of them reportedly died later in hospital.

35. In Kisangani, a young boy was beaten twice in the same day by several GR guards in the proximity of his church as he entered for mass and then as he exited afterwards, on 31 January 2006. The motive for this summary punishment was that he stepped beyond a barrier erected by the GR to cordon off the area around the presidential tent. The GR reportedly beat up another Kisangani civilian on 7 February, before transferring him to Ketele military camp where he allegedly received further beatings before being released.

36. In Kindu, a night watchman for an international organization, was stopped in the night of 12 February and interrogated by three GR guards in civilian clothing. Apparently dissatisfied with his responses, the GR punched him in the face several times.

37. Civil liberties have been violated this month. Four CEI employees were allegedly arbitrarily arrested by the PNC on 31 January 2006 in Kananga. The incident took place during a demonstration by CEI employees to demand 26 days of pay. The police used batons to disperse the demonstrators and arrested four of them.

38. A member of the Trade Union SOLISICO was arbitrarily arrested at his home by order of the Prosecutor General of the Court of Appeal of Mbandaka. The man was arrested on 30 January 2005 by judicial police officers and taken to the Prosecutor's office for questioning before being transferred to the Central Prison of Mbandaka. The prosecutor accuses the victim of instigating industrial action and disrespecting the law relating to the organization of strikes, despite contrary evidence. A strike of health workers began in Mbandaka on 9 January 2006. He was released on 1 February 2006.

39. The head of a Trade Union ''Prospérité'' has been arbitrarily arrested and has been held in the Kin Maziere police holding cells in Kinshasa since 27 January 2005. He was allegedly arrested following a meeting during which he denounced the irregularities in payment of salaries in the public sector.

40. On 1 February 2006, the State Security Court announced its final verdict in the case of a woman accused of "offending the Head of State" after she declared that Joseph Kabila was the father of her child. The woman was sentenced to twelve months in prison. On 17 February 2006, hearings were postponed for the case of Pastor Ngoy, a political prisoner standing trial for "offending the government. " On 18 February 2005, the new Constitution, which abolishes exceptional tribunals, came into effect. This defendant remains in detention at the CPRK.

41. The administration of justice was monitored by the HRD. A woman was sentenced by a customary tribunal in Tumbwe -- near Kalemie- of witchcraft and is currently held at Kalemie Central Prison. The victim was arrested from her home on 1 February by local police officers and taken to the local police station. Witchcraft does not constitute a criminal offence under Congolese Law.

42. On 6 February 2006, a FARDC soldier was sentenced to death for killing a 5-year-old boy and wounding four other civilians in Karhale on the outskirts of Bukavu the Tribunal Militaire de Garnisond in Bukavu. The accused was assisted by two lawyers for the crime committed only one day earlier; only one eye-witness was presented by the prosecutor. Marks on his body indicated that the defendant had been subjected to physical ill treatment before coming to court. On 22 February, a soldier was sentenced to death and two others to prison terms for serious crimes including murder and the distribution of arms, by the Tribunal de garnison militaire d'Uvira. The defendants' right to defence was not respected, as sufficient time for them to prepare was not granted.

43. Three prisoners died in Mbuji Mayi Central prison this month from untreated illness/malnutrition, the death rate in this facility has doubled since November 2005. At least three other inmates, including a woman are in a critical state. The conditions in the several of the town's holding cells are also intolerable: cells are cramped, dark and dirty. Police holding cells in Sake, North Kivu, are in a deplorable condition. Male detainees are held in a space with no facilities whatsoever. There is an absence of any sanitary facility and detainees are fed by their families.

44. Armed groups have been abusing the rights of civilians in three provinces. In North Kivu, a civilian was reportedly killed in the village of Luofu -- 153 km south-west of Butembo -- by armed Interahamwe/FDLR combatants in the night of 25-26 January 2006. The victim was shot dead when he refused to hand over money to the militiamen who were looting the village. At least 46 houses were reportedly looted the same night.

45. In South Kivu, a group of armed Rwandan Hutu reportedly broke into a private residence in Cisaza -- 58 km south-west of Bukavu -- in the night of 31 January -- 1 February 2006 and abducted a man, his wife and two daughters. The whereabouts of the victims remain unknown. Armed Rwandan Hutu are reportedly responsible for the killing of four civilians, including two children, at Kalengera -- 74 km south east of Bukavu - during the night of 10-11 February. In Lwisi -- 83 km north-west of Bukavu -17 civilians were allegedly abducted in the night of 18-19 February 2006 by a group of Rwandan Hutu. The perpetrators also allegedly killed a 13-year-old boy with an axe. One of those abducted managed to escape, but the whereabouts of the others remain unknown.

46. In northern Katanga, Mayi Mayi (Gédéon) are alleged to have abducted four civilians on 31 January 2006 in the course of an attack on the villages of Kasama and Lwatete -- 100 km from Pweto. Extensive looting is also reported to have occurred. The whereabouts of those abducted is unclear. On 13 February 2006, the same group reportedly killed a woman in Kimpampi -- 35 km north-west of Pweto. In Moba territory, a church source indicated that summary executions by Mayi Mayi had recently taken place; a former militia member, recently demobilised and a former Mayi Mayi chief, were reportedly killed by Gédéon in Kizombola and Ntoya - 170 and 140 km from Moba- respectively.