Congo Troops Looting Villages, Refugee Camps

November 24, 2008 1:45 p.m. EST

Kanyabayonga, Congo (AHN) - Army troops in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have been looting civilian refugee camps and villages and raping women, United Nations officials said Monday.

Looting began around Kanyabayonga on Monday afternoon (local time) and continued overnight, with many women being raped by soldiers as they looted.

People in villages, as well as refuge camps, have been robbed of food, clothing and essential household items by army troops.

More than 250,000 people have been displaced by the ongoing violence.

Roaming troops loyal to renegade general Laurent Nkunda have been fighting government troops in eastern DR Congo.

Villages targeted in the Kanyabayonga area are controlled by the government.