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UN draft report calls DR Congo crimes genocide

The BBC has seen a draft UN report that says crimes by the Rwandan army and allied rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo could be classified as genocide.

The report details how they targeted Rwandan Hutu refugees and Congolese Hutus in DR Congo, from 1993-2003.

It lists human rights violations committed by security forces from all countries involved in what has been called an "African world war".

The final report should be made public in the next few days.

The draft sheds light on 10 years of atrocities committed against civilians on the Congolese territory. The country was known as Zaire until 1997.

But more importantly, it brings details to the unresolved debate over the question of alleged genocide of ethnic Hutus between 1996 and 1998.

I hate to think genocide can be contagious, but in this case it seems to have been. In Rwanda, the Tutsis were targeted; in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it was the Hutus, and not just those fleeing Rwanda, but those indigenous to the Congo. The Rwandan government is not happy with the report, priding itself on halting the Rwandan genocide, but the fact of the matter is the victims could be Tutsis, Hutus, or Star-belly Sneetches, and as long as they are targeted consistently for death, rape, and other horrors because of their ethnicity, it's genocide.

Nor are things improving much. Just glance at this to see that the terrorisation of civilians by militias continues :

UN calls for urgent action over mass DR Congo rape

The UN has said everything possible must be done to prevent atrocities like the recent rape of more than 150 women and children in the DR Congo.

In an emergency session of the Security Council, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Congolese authorities had to fully investigate what had happened.

The Council also said peacekeepers in the area should have done more to protect local people from rebels.

The peacekeepers say they were not told about the attacks until 10 days later.

The rapes happened after rebels occupied Luvungi town and surrounding villages, within miles of a UN peacekeeping base.

Some reports say nearly 200 women and some baby boys were attacked by the rebels over a four-day period, before they left. The UN has confirmed 154 cases.

I want everyone with a gun out of the pool, period. These people so need a break to live out their lives in the peace all humans crave.