The UN on Friday voiced alarm at rampant violence in eastern DR Congo, as the M23 armed group moves pushes deeper into the country, warning of summary executions and widespread rapes.
The group's capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, earlier in the week was a dramatic escalation in a region that has seen decades of conflict involving multiple armed groups.
The United Nations on Thursday said that it was "deeply concerned" by "credible reports" that the Rwandan-backed M23 was advancing south from Goma to Bukavu -- capital of the neighbouring South Kivu province.
UN rights office spokesman Jeremy Laurence said that since the start of the crisis, bombs had struct at least two sites housing internally displaced people (IDPs), "causing civilian casualties".
"We have also documented summary executions of at least 12 people by M23 between 26 and 28 January," he told reporters in Geneva.
In areas under M23 control in South Kivu, like Minova, he said the group had "occupied schools and hospitals, forced IDPs out of camps and subjected the civilian population to forced conscription and forced labour".
The rights office, he said, had documented "cases of conflict-related sexual violence by the army and allied Wazalendo fighters in Kalehe territory".
"We are verifying reports that 52 women were raped by Congolese troops in South Kivu, including alleged reports of gang rape," he said.
Separately, he pointed to reports from DR Congo officials indicating that at least 165 women were raped by male inmates when more than 4,000 prisoners broke out of Goma's Muzenze prison on January 27, as the M23 began its assault on the town.
"Conflict-related sexual violence has been an appalling feature of armed conflict in eastern DRC for decades," Laurence said.
UN rights chief Volker Turk "is particularly concerned that this latest escalation risks deepening the risk of conflict-related sexual violence much further", he added.
Laurence cautioned that the "widespread proliferation of weapons in Goma" was "exacerbating" those risks.
He also called for investigations to bring "the perpetrators to justice" and to ensure accountability.