Bukavu, 5 February 2011 – The Deputy Force Commander of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), Major-General Adrian J. Foster, visited the South Kivu Brigade Area of Responsibility from 4 to 8 February 2011.

The visit took the Deputy Force Commander to Fizi where dozens of women were raped on the night of January 1 and 2. He met with the rape victims, local dignitaries, and elements of the Congolese National Armed Forces (FARDC), and assured them of MONUSCO's full support. The South-Kivu military court started a public hearing on the rape cases on 10 February 2011 in Baraka, 35 km from Fizi for eleven Congolese soldiers indicted for the crime.

Lieutenant Colonel Liaqat Ali Qamar / MONUSCO