Statistics show perils of living in east Congo

Thousands of U.N. troops
About 18,000 U.N. troops are deployed in the country to help maintain security.

The report also said 85 percent of people polled believe "those responsible for the violence should be held accountable."

Echoing the views of other rights and advocacy groups, the report said government armed forces "continue to be among the worst perpetrators of daily human rights violations against the population and the source of instability."

"Civilians remain targets of the indiscriminate violence," it said, "including killing torture, displacement, abduction and epidemic levels of rape ... A state of fear prevails to this day in large swaths of" the country.

Patrick Vinck, director of the Berkeley-Tulane Initiative for Vulnerable Populations, who led the study, said "reform of the police and army are needed immediately to protect civilians. The Congolese expect that war criminals will be punished, but most remain at large."

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