The European Union (EU) has expressed 'deep indignation and consternation' over the group attacks and rape recently perpetrated by militiamen of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and Congolese allied armed groups in the province of North Kivu, official sources in Brussels revealed.
In a communique, made available to PANA Tuesday here, the EU condemned the use of sexual violence as a war weapon.
According to reports by NGOs operating in DR Congo, about 200 women and children in a North Kivu village were collectively raped by FDLR militiamen between 30 July and 4 August.
The EU called on the DR Congo government to deploy 'the efforts needed to ensure the protection of civilians and put an end to impunity, based on the national strategy to fight gender-based violence, adopted in November 2009 by the state'.
The EU urged the UN Mission for the Stabilization of Congo (MONUSCO) to strengthen its commitments while the Congolese government should consolidating on security in the North Kivu region.
According to NGOs, the recent gang-rapes were committed in areas very close to where MONUSCO troops are operating.
