‘Child was raped every half an hour’ in two months in eastern DR Congo: UN

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The United Nations has condemned the widespread rape and sexual violence against children in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported in the first two months of this year amid heightened tensions between the M23 armed group and government forces.

Spokesperson for the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF, James Elder, warned on Friday that the rate of sexual violence in the DRC against children had “never been higher”.

“Early reports show that children make up between 35 to 45 percent of the nearly 10,000 cases of rape and sexual violence reported … in just January and February of this year,” he told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Goma.

“In short, based on initial data … during the most intense phase of this year’s conflict in eastern DRC, a child was raped every half an hour,” he explained.