U.N. says Congolese troops raped, pillaged villages

After a two-hour closed-door meeting Tuesday, members of the 15-nation U.N. Security Council and the Congolese ambassador said broad agreement exists for beefing up the 17,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo, known as MONUC.

"I would say a large number of members in the council believe that MONUC has to be strengthened," Panamanian Ambassador Ricardo Alberto Arias said.

Congo Ambassador Ileka Atoki said "the idea is more or less approved," but the council is waiting for another report on Congo next week from Ban, who requested the 3,000 additional troops more than a month ago to protect civilians.

Aid workers were trying to gain access to the towns of Rutshuru and Kiwanja, both 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Kanyabayonga in rebel-held territory, where they expected the need for food was urgent.

In normal times, the two towns have a combined population of more than 150,000. But aid workers said they have no idea how many people are there now. At least 250,000 people have been displaced by 10 weeks of fighting between army troops and rebels led by Nkunda.

A rebel spokesman said any aid workers who wanted to help civilians trapped on rebel-held territory would be safe.

Congo's armed forces are notoriously ill-disciplined soldiers, historically better at looting than standing their ground. In recent days, some have been seen manning checkpoints drunk.

Dietrich said the U.N. flew helicopters over the ravaged area Tuesday, carried out foot patrols, and initiated an investigation into the violence with the Congolese army.

The fighting in eastern Congo is fueled by ethnic hatred left over from the 1994 slaughter of at least 500,000 Tutsis in neighboring Rwanda. Nkunda says he is fighting to protect minority Tutsis from Rwandan Hutu militants who participated in the genocide before escaping to Congo.

A U.N. mission sent to Kiwanja, about 50 miles north of Goma, to investigate reports of civilian massacres there. It visited 11 burial sites that witnesses said contained 26 bodies of combatants and civilians, Ban's spokeswoman, Michele Montas, said.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said at least 50 civilians were killed there, mostly by rebels.

Closer to Goma, the situation for displaced refugees was dire.

"I haven't eaten properly in three weeks," said Teoneste Dies, 22. He fled his home three weeks ago with his wife and three children, surviving on whatever potatoes they could scrounge.

On Tuesday, he waited with thousands of others for food aid from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

In Kibati, 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."

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.

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.

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