U.N.: Congo troops raping, pillaging in villages

70,000 in makeshift camps
In Kibati, six miles from Goma, about 70,000 people are living in makeshift camps. A long line snaked through town Tuesday morning as villagers picked up oil, maize flour, salt and beans.

Men were attempting to till a nearby field littered with volcanic rocks from an eruption in 2006.

"Normally they never try to plant there," said Abdallah Togola, an aid worker. "It's a big indication of how urgent the situation is."

Desire Burunga, 48, fled to Kibati with his four wives and twelve children in September, when fighting threatened his town of Kibumba.

"We used to live together and have no problem," said Burunga, a former county clerk. "After the affair in Rwanda, everyone has problems. Everyone is now aggressive after Rwanda."

Relief officials say they have recorded at least 90 cholera cases around Goma since Friday. Seven more were admitted to a clinic in Kibati on Monday night.

Fear of cholera epidemic
The World Health Organization said Tuesday it fears a cholera epidemic could break out if the fighting continues and people continue to live in makeshift camps without proper sanitation. At least 1,000 cases of cholera have been detected since the start of October.

The agency has flown 66 U.S. tons of medical supplies to neighboring Uganda, which will be taken by road to eastern Congo.

Human Rights Watch urged the U.N. Tuesday to increase the number of peacekeepers in eastern Congo to protect civilians. The organization said the Security Council should bolster the 17,000-strong U.N. force in Congo by 3,000 soldiers and police.

In Frankfurt, Germany, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said he and other African leaders were worried about the fighting.

"Peace in our country cannot last for long unless our neighbors are at peace," he said. "The fighting has to stop."

Kagame said no Rwandan troops had been dispatched to Congo.

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