DRC 'rebels' rape woman, force her to eat human flesh twice
The woman was kidnapped twice by rebels, repeatedly raped and forced to cook and eat human flesh, rights campaigner Julienne Lusenge tells UNSC in shocking testimony of conflict crimes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Civilians watch as military tank parks on the road following renewed fighting in Jomba, outside Goma in the North Kivu province of DRC.
A woman was kidnapped twice by militants in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), repeatedly raped and forced to cook and eat human flesh, a rights group has told the United Nations Security Council.
Julienne Lusenge, president of women's rights group Female Solidarity for Integrated Peace and Development (SOFEPADI), told the woman's story on Wednesday while addressing the 15-member council about the conflict-torn east of DRC.
The UN Security Council was meeting for a regular briefing on DRC, where heavy fighting between the government and rebel groups since late May has sparked a surge in violence.
READ MORE: UN envoy: M23 rebels acting like army in eastern DRC
CODECO's disturbing abuse
Lusenge said the woman was kidnapped by CODECO militants when she went to pay a ransom for another kidnapped family member. The woman told the rights group that she was repeatedly raped and physically abused. Then she said the militants slit a man's throat.
"They pulled out his entrails and they asked me to cook them. They brought me two water containers to prepare the rest of the meal. They then fed all of the prisoners human flesh," Lusenge told the Security Council, recounting the woman's story.
Lusenge said the woman was released after a few days, but while trying to return home was kidnapped by another militia group whose members also repeatedly raped her.
"Again I was asked to cook and eat human flesh," the woman, who eventually escaped, told SOFEPADI.
Lusenge did not name the second militant group during her council briefing. CODECO could not be reached for comment.
READ MORE: Over 800 children separated from families in eastern DRC clashes
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Conflict-torn east
CODECO is one of several armed militias that have long been fighting over land and resources in DRC's mineral-rich east – a conflict that has killed thousands and displaced millions over the past decade.
DRC's army has been locked in heavy fighting since late May with the M23 rebel group, which is waging its most sustained offensive since a 2012-2013 insurrection that seized vast swathes of territory.
UN peacekeepers have been deployed in DRC for more than 20 years.
READ MORE: Thousands hold anti-Rwanda protests in eastern DRC
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