More than 150 women raped in Congolese village

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More than 150 women raped in Congolese village
By the CNN Wire Staff
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Rape spree lasts four days, group says
U.N. says militants loyal to Hutu militia group committed the attacks
In some cases, the women are assaulted in front of children
(CNN) -- Two armed groups raped more than 150 women in a village in the volatile North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo in a four-day spree, a United Nations official said Monday.

The attacks happened last month and members of a U.N. human rights team said it confirmed the attacks.

"Victims of the attack, which occurred on 30 July in the village of Bunangiri are receiving medical treatment and have also been provided psycho-social care," the U.N. officials said in a statement.

In the statement U.N. officials said the culprits were insurgents loyal to the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. The ethnic Hutu militia has been linked the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 and has been been battling Congo government forces recently.

Aid group International Medical Corps said it is treating the women and had more details about the rape spree that they say went on for days.

"The incident began when armed men entered a local village, urging the population not to flee by convincing them that they were only there to find food. However, after dark another group of armed men reportedly arrived, and over the next four days the armed actors raped women throughout the area," the organization said in a statement.

The women were attacked by two to six armed men and sometimes in front of their husbands and children, the medical organization said.








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