In the Democratic Republic of Congo, rape has become a weapon of war. The number of rape attacks has increased by threefold over the past few years. Armed groups use it to terrorize a community. This report is according to human rights activists.

Senior researcher with Human Rights Watch Anneke van Woudenberg told CNN international correspondent Christiane Amanpour that 200,000 women and girls have been raped in Eastern Congo since 1998.

“Rape is being used as a weapon of war in eastern Congo. So we notice and we have documented that when armed groups walk into town, they will rape the women and girls, sometimes publicly, sometimes privately, in order to punish the local population” says van Woudenberg.

The death toll in Congo has reached more than 5 million since World War II. Most of those who died have been casualties of the fighting such as diseases and starvation. Until at present time, war still continues in Congo, and women are at the center of the violence.

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