UN Reports Murder, Rape and Torture By Congo Troops and Rebels

Government soldiers and rebels fighting in eastern Congo both have committed serious human rights abuses, according to the United Nations secretary-general.

A report presented by Ban Ki-moon to the UN security council documents atrocities perpetrated against the displaced civilian population of the vast region. Up to 250,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the past few months.

The details of mass killings and rapes emerged as Human Rights Watch released a separate report estimating that as many as 500 political opponents of President Joseph Kabila's government had been murdered since 2006 elsewhere in the DRC.

It described the human rights situation in the central African state as "a cause for grave concern" despite a current lull in fighting.

The UN report, which covers conditions between July and November, said elements of the Congolese army and national police were responsible for numerous serious violations including arbitrary executions, rape and torture.

Rebels ? including those loyal to Laurent Nkunda's National Congress for the Defence of the People and Rwandan Hutu fighters ? are accused in the report of "perpetrating serious human rights abuses with impunity".

Among the Hutu fighters are said to be some who participated in Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Alleged rebel abuses include "mass killings, torture, abductions, forced recruitment of children, forced displacement and destruction of (refugee) camps, forced labor [and] sexual violence".

The 28-page UN study claims Congolese national civilian and military intelligence services have carried out arbitrary arrests that have led to "torture and extortion".

It said members of Congo's security forces, politicians and government officials had targeted journalists and human rights activists.

Human Rights Watch recorded what it said was a campaign of "brutal repression" against "perceived opponents" of the Kabila regime since 2006.

"While everyone focuses on the violence in eastern Congo, government abuses against political opponents attract little attention," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior researcher in the watchdog's Africa division. "Efforts to build a democratic Congo are being stifled not just by rebellion but also by the Kabila government's repression."

The government campaign has resulted in the killing or execution of up to 500 victims in the past two years and the detention of another 1,000 political opponents, the report said.

"In some of the most violent episodes, state agents tried to cover up the crimes by dumping bodies in the Congo river or by secretly burying them in mass graves. Government officials blocked efforts to investigate by UN human rights staff, Congolese and international human rights monitors, and family members of victims," it added.

Last week, the security council approved an increase of 3,000 troops and police in the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, bringing the biggest such UN force in the world to 20,000 strong. The aim is to prevent the conflict in North Kivu from escalating into a wider war.