'15,000 rapes in war-torn DR Congo'

More than 15,000 rapes were committed last year in the strife-torn region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where peacekeepers are unable to fully protect civilians, a senior United Nations official has said.

With accusations now being made against DRC government troops over new cases of rape and killing in the volatile east of the country, Roger Meece, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo (Monusco), said "the scale of the problem is enormous".

Meece appeared before the UN security council on Friday, and despite being unable to give details of the new attacks, he said: "The best data available, for example, suggests that over 15,000 rapes were committed last year in eastern DRC."

'Horrific' mass rapes

Meece told the council that the "horrific'' mass rapes in late July and early August by rebel groups in eastern Congo's mineral-rich Walikale region underscored the importance of protecting civilians.

But he said after the briefing that it is impossible for 18,000 UN peacekeepers to protect all civilians in the area where armed groups are operating in an area larger than Afghanistan.

The UN force "cannot serve as the complete answer to the security problems of the east,'' Meece said.

Armed groups operate over a wide area and often mix with the civilian population, he added.

"In this vast area...it is not possible for Monusco to ensure full protection for all civilians. To approach this goal would require vastly greater force levels and resources," Meece said.

'Men in uniform'

Margot Wallstrom, the UN special envoy on sexual violence against women in conflict, told the council on Thursday that government troops are raping and killing women in remote villages in the Walikale region where hundreds of women were assaulted in July and August.

She said Monusco had reported new attacks by troops who are conducting an operation to enforce a government moratorium on illegal mining and in a bid to take control of the region from rebels.

"The possibility that the same communities that were brutalised in July and August by Rwandan Hutu rebels and Mai-Mai elements are now also suffering at the hands of the Congolese army is unimaginable and unacceptable," Wallstrom said.

She has already blamed the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and Mai-Mai rebels for the mass rapes in July and August.

Meece said Congolese army operations are under way in the Walikale region, primarily directed against the Mai-Mai and the FDLR. But he said he did not know if government troops were involved in rapes.

The United Nations said 303 civilians - 235 women, 13 men, 52 girls and three boys were raped in 13 villages in the Walikale area from July 30 till August 2.

In response to the mass rapes, Meece said UN peacekeepers are establishing some new temporary operating bases in the Walikale region and are instituting other measures to improve communications with remote villages and respond more quickly to sexual attacks.

According to the UN Population Fund, there were 17,507 sexual violence attacks throughout Congo in 2009 - including more than 9,000 in North and South Kivu, which have been at the centre of the conflict in the east.

The scale of rapes and sexual violence has not diminished much this year, according to the fund, known as UNFPA, which collects data in Congo.

It said there were 7,685 attacks in Congo between January and June, including more than 4,500 in the Kivus.

Abubakar Dungus, a UNFPA spokesman, said 5,427 of the sexual attacks this year - about 70 per cent - were perpetrated "by men in uniform''. It was unclear if he was referring to soldiers or rebels.

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UN extends Haiti force mandate

The United Nations will keep it's peacekeeping force in Haiti for another year, following a unanimous vote in the Security Council on Thursday.

The resolution approving the continued presence of nearly 9,000 soldiers and around 4,300 police officers called for "credible and legitimate" presidential and legislative elections, scheduled for November 28.

Rene Preval, who has served as Haiti's president for 10 of the past 15 years, cannot by law run for re-election, and the country remains in a perilous position nine months after a devestating earthquake killed around 300,000 people and left millions more homeless.

An investigation by the Associated Press news agency has determined that none of the $1.15bn in rebuilding funding promised by the United States has arrived. There have also been reports of a rise in drug trafficking and criminal gang activities.

The UN resolution passed on Thursday expressed concern with "the rise in the number of weapons in circulation" and condemned "grave violations against children affected by armed violence, as well as widespread rape and other sexual abuse of women and girls".

The post-election transition to a new government won't happen until next year, and the UN peacekeeping force's mandate was extended to October 15, 2011.

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Hungary sludge wall 'to collapse'

The Hungarian prime minister has said the weakened northern wall of an aluminium sludge reservoir which caused a devastating toxic spill, is likely to collapse within hours.

Viktor Orban's comments on Saturday came as the village of Kolontar, which lies close to the deadly sludge spill in the country's west, was evacuated for fear of a new leak of the dangerous heavy metal waste.

"Last night the interior minister informed us that cracks have appeared on the northern wall of the reservoir, whose corner collapsed, which make it likely that the entire wall will collapse," Orban said in the western town of Ajka, the site of an alumina plant.

During his visit to the affected area, he also acknowledged that "human error" had caused the spill.

Authorities ordered the evacuation of Kolontar on Saturday morning at 7am local time after further damage was discovered at the reservoir that spilled toxic sludge on Monday, according to the national news agency, MTI.

Fears of new leak

Kolontar and Devecser were the towns hardest hit when up to 700,000 cubic metres of red sludge poured out of the reservoir at the alumina plant in Ajka.

Orban said about 500,000 cubic metres of red sludge could spill out of the reservoir, but this substance was thicker than the roughly one million cubic metres which swept through nearby villages this week, killing seven people and injuring around 150 others.

Reporting from Ajke on Saturday, said "authorities are measuring the density of the sludge, by dropping steel rods into the reservoir, in the hopes that it will give the disaster unit an idea of how much of this material is going to come pouring out".

On Saturday "all 800 residents of Kolontar were taken to a sports hall and two schools in Ajka, eight kilometres away, over fears of new leaks", she said.

"Officials insist that the decision was taken as a precautionary measure."

Many residents have suffered from burns and eye irritations caused by corrosive elements in the mud.

MAL Zrt, the company that owns the metals plant, said the waste was not considered hazardous under EU standards and recommended people clean off the sludge with water.

Tibor Dobson, the disaster unit chief, said no new waste has escaped from the huge container "so far".

Experts have been pouring large quantities of clay and acid into affected waterways in an effort to neutralise the alkaline pollutants.

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N Korea marks Communist founding

North Korea has begun three days of celebrations to mark 65 years since the founding of the country's Communist Workers' Party.

For the first time, international media outlets, including Al Jazeera, are getting a rare glimpse inside the communist state - where the celebrations are to be broadcast live from the capital, Pyongyang, on Saturday.

But the festivities, which culminate in a large military parade in the capital on Sunday, are more than an event to mark the anniversary of communist rule.

North Korean officials are also expected to use the celebrations to confirm the historic handover of power from ailing leader Kim Jong-il to his son and heir apparent, Kim Jong-un.

Koreans 'honoured'

Yang Hyong Sop, a senior official in the country's ruling party, told the APTN broadcaster on Friday that North Koreans will be honoured to follow Kim Jong-un.

"Our people take pride in the fact that they are blessed with great leaders from generation to generation," Yang said.

"Our people are honoured to be led by the great president Kim Il Sung and the great general Kim Jong-il. Now we also have the honour of being led by General Kim Jong-un."

Kim Jong-il announced his youngest known son's appointment to two important political posts late last month, according to state media, in what was regarded as the first step in his succession plan.

The senior Kim came to power when his father died of heart failure in 1994, setting in motion the communist world's first hereditary transfer of power.

He was officially chosen as successor in 1972, when he was elected to the party's central committee, and the same scenario could hold true for his son.

Regional dynamics

The question of who will take over from the senior Kim, believed to suffer from a host of ailments, is important to regional dynamics as well as security, because of North Korea's active nuclear and missile programmes, and regular threats it makes against rival South Korea.

Kim Tae-young, South Korea's defence chief, said on Friday that the US and South Korea should be prepared for a crisis in North Korea when the senior Kim leaves power.

The expected transfer of power could have unpredictable consequences in the nation, he warned, during a news conference with his US counterpart, Robert Gates, at the Pentagon.

Gates, the US defence secretary, said it remains to be seen whether a change of leadership will lead to change in the country.

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