UNICEF accuses armed men in eastern Congo of raping scores of children

DAKAR, Senegal — The U.N. children's fund on Thursday accused armed men, likely on both sides of the conflict in eastern Congo, of raping scores of children over the past weeks as rebels expand their footprint and push government forces out.

The accusation came as the conflict in the mineral-rich region shows no signs of abating. UNICEF cited reports of the abuses, saying the offenders were apparently from among both the M23 rebels and the government forces fighting them.

"In the North and South Kivu provinces, we are receiving horrific reports of grave violations against children by parties to the conflict, including rape and other forms of sexual violence at levels surpassing anything we have seen in recent years,'' UNICEF's Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.

''One mother recounted to our staff how her six daughters, the youngest just 12 years old, were systematically raped by armed men while searching for food," Russell added.

Health facilities in the restive region reported during the week from Jan. 27 to Feb. 2 a total of 572 rape cases — more than a fivefold increase compared to the week before, Lianne Gutcher, UNICEF's communication chief in Congo, told The Associated Press.

Of those, 170 of those treated were children, she added.

Armed men perpetrated the rapes but it was unclear what specific armed group or army they belonged to, Gutcher said. ''It is suspected that all parties to the conflict committed sexual violence,'' she added.

The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels are the most prominent among more than 100 armed groups vying for control of Congo's mineral-rich east in a decades-long conflict that has created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises. In late January, the rebels captured Goma, the region's largest city, in a major escalation of the fighting.

Last week, the United Nations Human Rights Council launched a commission that will investigate atrocities, including rapes and killings akin to ''summary executions'' committed by both the Congolese army and the M23 rebels in the region since the beginning of the year.

On Monday, 84 Congolese soldiers accused of murder, rape and other crimes in the country's east went on trial in the city of Bukavu. The city is under the control of government forces but the rebel offensive has inched closer to it recently.

Congo's Health Minister Roger Kamba, meanwhile, said 143 patients who were being treated for mpox fled from Goma's hospitals as the rebels pushed into the city. Some were found or came back on their own but 110 have not returned.

The minister said the city has also recorded nearly 100 cases of cholera since the rebel offensive started. Goma is now fully under rebel control.

Kamba added that Congolese authorities, with the help of aid groups, were able to send vaccines, medical supplies and medicines to Goma through a humanitarian corridor via neighboring Kenya and Rwanda. He did not provide details.