Over half were assaulted by armed men, it said last week, noting that its figures were likely to be underestimates
\n GOMA
\nGOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 20 (Reuters) – Four men with machetes were hard on their heels as a group of women raced through the dense forest surrounding east Congo\u2019s city of Goma, desperate to reach a displacement camp they had left to collect firewood.
\nOne tripped on a stone and fell. She had no time to react before one of the men caught up.
\n\u201cHe raped me,\u201d she recalled two weeks later in Bulengo, one of several camps near Goma sheltering about 600,000 people that have fled conflict zones.
\n\u201cHe told me that if I screamed he would kill me,\u201d she said. \u201cI felt dirty.\u201d
\nThe 35-year-old victim, who did not want to be named, is just one among hundreds of displaced women who have been sexually assaulted when they left the camps to get wood or food.
\nMedical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) treated more than 670 women – or nearly 50 per day – at three sites between April 17 and 30 who had been subjected to sexual violence.
\nOver half were assaulted by armed men, it said last week, noting that its figures were likely to be underestimates.
\nRape has been widely documented as a weapon of war used by armed militia groups that have been active in Congo\u2019s east since the end of two civil wars waged between 1996 and 2003.
\nUnrest escalated after the M23 group staged a major offensive in North Kivu province last year, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee as the army fought back.
\nMany have sought refuge in crowded camps like Bulengo, where humanitarian workers are struggling to cope.
\nHungry mouths to feed push women outside the camp in search of food and firewood to sell, making them vulnerable to sex crimes, said MSF worker Delice Sezage Tulinabo.
\nReports of gender-based violence in North Kivu were up more than a third in the first three months of 2023 compared with 2022, when more than 38,000 cases were recorded, UNICEF said this week.
\nMost survivors reported being attacked by armed and displaced men in and around the camps.
\nHumanitarian workers have also raised concern about the army. In Bulengo, women said they had to pay soldiers to enter the forest. Some of them also commit rape, they added.
\nDefence Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba said the allegations were being investigated.
\nYvonne Tumaini Asifwe, 55, decided to stop venturing outside after two of her friends were raped. But she is already feeling the pinch.
\n\u201cWhat are we going to eat?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Over half were assaulted by armed men, it said last week, noting that its figures were likely to be underestimates GOMA GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 20 (Reuters) – Four men with machetes were hard on their heels as a group of women raced through the dense forest surrounding east Congo\u2019s city of Goma, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332539,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-332541","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n