GENEVA
\nThe Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has summarily executed children in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
\nThe UN rights office warned the situation in eastern DRC was \u201cdeteriorating sharply, resulting in serious human rights violations and abuses.\u201d
\n\u201cOur office has confirmed cases of summary execution of children by M23 after they entered the city of Bukavu last week,\u201d rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
\n\u201cWe are also aware that children were in possession of weapons,\u201d she said.
\nShe urged \u201cRwanda and M23 to ensure that human rights and international humanitarian law are respected.\u201d
\nM23 fighters and Rwandan soldiers have seized Goma and Bukavu, the capitals of North and South Kivu provinces respectively.
\nIn South Kivu, more than 150,000 people have been forced to flee, UN refugee agency UNHCR said.
\nUN experts say Rwanda effectively controls M23 and has at least 4,000 troops fighting alongside it.
\nThe DRC government accuses Rwanda of \u201cexpansionist ambitions\u201d and says it is stealing vast amounts of minerals.
\nShamdasani said the situation was \u201cvery chaotic,\u201d and the UN rights office was \u201creceiving a lot of information… which we are not able to confirm or verify.\u201d
\nIt had, however, confirmed a case of three boys, thought to be aged between 11 and 15, who had been killed in Bukavu on Sunday \u201cduring an altercation with members of M23.\u201d
\nThe boys were allegedly wearing uniforms and carrying weapons found in an abandoned DRC army camp, firing shots and looting stores, she said.
\n\u201cWhat appears to have happened is that they were asked to surrender their weapons and they refused to do so and they were killed,\u201d she said.
\nThe rights office had also documented cases of \u201cill treatment, conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence, child and forced recruitment, intimidation and death threats,\u201d she said.
\nPrison breaks from South Kivu\u2019s Kabare and Bukavu jails on Friday had made matters worse.
\n\u201cWe have received protection requests from victims and witnesses (who) fear retaliation from escapees, given their active participation in the trials against some of these prisoners convicted of grave human rights violations and abuses, some of which amount to international crimes,\u201d she said.
\nShe said the UN had received \u201creports that journalists, human rights defenders and members of civil society organizations have been threatened, and forced to leave.\u201d
\nUN rights chief Volker Turk \u201cexpresses his horror at the events unfolding in South and North Kivu, and the impact this is having on civilians,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cThe risks of this spilling over into an even deeper and wider conflict are frighteningly real.\u201d
\nThe fighting has already spurred an exodus toward neighboring Burundi, UNHCR warned.
\n\u201cBetween 10,000 and 15,000 people have crossed into Burundi over the last few days,\u201d spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh told reporters.
\n\u201cMost of those arriving are Congolese, mainly from the Bukavu area,\u201d he said.
\nHe highlighted reports of thousands more people arriving through \u201cunofficial border points,\u201d including across rivers, \u201cwith reports of several individuals drowning.\u201d
\n\u201cConditions in the communities near the border are extremely dire, with a lack of shelter, water and sanitation facilities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GENEVA The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has summarily executed children in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations said on Tuesday. The UN rights office warned the situation in eastern DRC was \u201cdeteriorating sharply, resulting in serious human rights violations and abuses.\u201d \u201cOur office has confirmed cases of summary execution of children by M23 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462445,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-462426","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n