Nairobi β United Nations peacekeepers in the Central African Republic raped or sexually exploited at least eight women and girls between October and December Among the survivors are a year-old girl and an year-old woman who said peacekeepers gang-raped them near Bambari airport in the center of the country.
From September to December members of the UN peacekeepers from the Republic of Congo guarded the airport and allegedly committed numerous acts of sexual abuse and exploitation against women and girls. Only one of the survivors had received any medical or psychosocial care, available at the Bambari hospital and through non-governmental organizations, before speaking to Human Rights Watch. All eight said that they believed the peacekeepers responsible were from the Republic of Congo or the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A battalion of approximately soldiers from the Democratic Republic of Congo is deployed to Bambari and other towns in Ouaka province. The deployment of Republic of Congo peacekeepers corresponds with the sexual exploitation and abuse allegations Human Rights Watch documented, most of which occurred at or near the airport.
An year-old woman said that when she visited the Republic of Congo troop base near the airport in late seeking food or money, armed peacekeepers forced her into the bush and gang-raped her.
They were armed. They said if I resisted they would kill me. They took me one by one. They pulled me into the tall grass and one held my arms while the other one pinned down my legs and raped me. The soldier holding my arms tried to hold my mouth, but I was still able to scream.
