UN accuses rebels in Democratic Republic of the Congo of killing children

A child displaced by the fighting between M23 rebels and government soldiers holds a damaged helmet at the camp in Goma (Moses Sawasawa/AP)

The UN human rights chief has accused Rwanda-backed rebels who seized a second major city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo of killing children and attacking hospitals and warehouses storing humanitarian aid.

Volker Turk said on Tuesday that his office “confirmed cases of summary execution of children by M23 after they entered the city of Bukavu last week. We are also aware that children were in possession of weapons”.