Rebels gang rape nearly 200 women, says aid worker

RWANDAN and Congolese rebels gang-raped nearly 200 women and some young boys over four days within miles of a UN peacekeepers’ base in an eastern Congo mining district, an American aid worker and a Congolese doctor said yesterday.

Will F Cragin of the International Medical Corps said aid workers knew rebels had occupied Luvungi town and surrounding villages in eastern Congo the day after the attack began on July 30. UN agencies sent text messages to phones saying the area was occupied, he said.

More than three weeks later, the UN mission has issued no statement about the atrocities and said Monday it still is investigating.