UN investigates DRC rapes

A United Nations special representative has arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo to investigate a mass rape earlier this month.

Some 154 women and children were assaulted over a four-day period from July 30 to August 2 in 13 villages in the North Kivu province.

UN peacekeepers, based just 30 kilometres away, did not find out until a week later.

Roger Meece was sent to the Kibua village base on a fact-finding mission after the Security Council condemned the attack and expressed concern over the late response of UN troops.

Peacekeepers say villagers were unable to raise the alarm because their attackers – thought to be from the Rwandan Hutu FDLR and the Mai Mai militia – blocked the roads.

Meece and a verification team are expected to spend a week gathering evidence.

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