Congo: 12 senior army officers to be charged with mass rapes

GOMA, Congo – A top Congolese official says 12 senior army officers have been arrested on charges of responsibility for mass rapes committed by several army units in eastern Congo in November 2012.

Justice Minister Wivine Mumba confirmed the arrests to The Associated Press Saturday. The arrests come more than two weeks after the United Nations pressed the Congolese government to take action in the case.

In November, the Congolese army was defeated by the M23 rebels who seized the provincial capital of Goma, in eastern Congo. The national army retreated in disorder and regrouped some 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Goma, in Minova. For days, the Congolese army troops raped, killed and looted in anger after the defeat. An estimated 126 women were raped by soldiers, according to Human Rights Watch.