Unspeakable horrors
The week's news at a glance.
South Kivu, Congo
Sexual atrocities in Congo’s South Kivu province are “of an unimaginable brutality that goes far beyond rape,” a U.N. human-rights expert said this week. “Women are brutally gang raped, often in front of their families and communities,” Yakin Erturk said. “In numerous cases, male relatives are forced at gunpoint to rape their own daughters, mothers, or sisters.” Some of the victims said they had been forced to eat the flesh of their murdered relatives. Erturk said that because the army, police, and militias in the war-torn province were all guilty of such crimes, only international intervention could stop the abuse. A war in Congo involving seven other African countries ended in 2003, but foreign militias still roam the country. In 2005, the U.N. estimated that 45,000 women had been raped that year alone.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Selfies ban in art galleries: a sign of the times?
Talking Point Priceless art has been damaged by visitors desperate to take a snap with star attractions, leading some galleries and museums to start fighting back
-
Quiz of The Week: 21 – 27 June
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: How do you turn plastics into paracetamol?
Podcast Plus, what is the Wagner Group doing now? And why is it so hard to find a job after university?