"ROSS KEMP:" "I'm in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the deadliest conflict since the Second World War has been raging for over a decade." "The war has already claimed millions of lives, as bands of armed militias battle the army for control of the country's vast mineral wealth." "One of the minerals, coltan, is used in our mobile phones, laptops and remote controls." "We may all have blood on our hands." "They cut your arms first before they raped you?" "Rape as a weapon of war has become a brutal feature of this deadly conflict." "Now I'm heading into the heart of the war zone to find out for myself what can be done to end this appalling cycle of violence, which amounts to the rape and plunder of an entire nation." "(Shouts )" "As Eastern Congo is a war zone, there are no international flights in or out of its capital, Goma." "So, we're having to begin our journey by flying to Rwanda before continuing by road." "Rwanda is where the war in the Congo has its murky origins." "We've just arrived in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, and, looking around here now, it's difficult to believe that this was the backdrop to a genocide that shook the world." "Just under a million people were brutally murdered here, the majority of whom were hacked to death with machetes." "It rightly made front-page news around the world." "But the ongoing war in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC, rarely makes the headlines." "The United Nations has described the DRC as the rape capital of the world." "It's estimated that some six million people have been killed there in the last ten years and tens of thousands are added to that number every month." "We're on our way there to find out why so little is known about the bloodiest conflict the planet has witnessed since the end of the Second World War." "Rwanda, the country of a thousand hills, is peaceful now, and run along orderly lines, and the road which leads to the Congo is surprisingly good." "But it wasn't always like this." "In 1994, simmering ethnic hatred in Rwanda between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes boiled over and the Hutu set about systematically ethnically cleansing the country of Tutsis." "But the Tutsis then rose up against the Hutus, two million of whom were forced to flee the country." "Amongst them were some of the ringleaders of the genocide." "We've been driving for about two hours now, and the road is following a river that slowly winds into the Congo, and I'm reminded that this is the route that the Hutu militia took after the genocide in Rwanda." "This is the way they got into the Congo, and once they arrived there, they started a war." "The city of Goma is seated at the base of an active volcano, and to add to the general chaos of this battle-scarred city many of the roads are now encrusted with rough hardened lava, which makes driving on them challenging." "(Horn sounding) I'm heading to Panzi Hospital, the only medical facility in the country e9uipped to deal with worst cases of rape and sexual violence, which have become a hallmark of this brutal conflict." "I'm going to meet Dr Dennis Mukwege, who founded the hospital in response to the crisis in the country." "He's been treating the most serious cases of rape and mutilation here for ten years." "Sorry, that's very difficult for me to understand." "What do you mean?" " Fire?" " Exactly." "What, they put burning wood in..." "Bottle?" "And just..." " Stick it inside the woman's vagina?" " Exactly." "But why do they want to cut the labia or the clitoris?" "Why stick burning bottles into people?" " So, it's rape being used as a weapon?" " Exactly." "ROSS:" "On our way around the hospital, we come across Sara, a young rape victim." " She's only 14." " Yeah." "She was raped when she was only 13..." " 13?" " ..and now raises a baby." "ROSS:" "Who was responsible for the rape?" " Hutus?" " dennis:" "Mm." "Are your family OK?" "dennis:" "She's now alone in life with a child." "The father is the killer of the whole family." "is terrible." "(Low chatter)" " Do you get children who have been raped?" " Yeah." " Very young?" " Yeah." " Three years old?" " Yeah." "Raped with..." " The genital parts had exploded?" " Exactly." "ROSS:" "Gone?" "The brutality of the Hutu militia and the awful conse9uences for their victims seems to know no bounds." "Can you tell me your name?" "What is your story?" "What happened to you?" "How come your hands have been cut off?" "Do you have any idea why they did this?" "They cut your arms first before they raped you?" "You had a baby, and they killed the baby of three months as well?" "(Chatter)" "(Cheering)" "(Greets crowd)" "Dr Mukwege is seen as a saviour here by hundreds of women who have been raped and often mutilated and are now recovering from surgery." "Rossi." "(Cheering)" "After they were raped, many of these women were forced to become sex slaves and mules carrying valuable minerals which fuel the ongoing war." "Nabinto, yeah?" "And what's the story?" " Cut his skull in half?" " Yes." "Why would they ask them to rape..." "the parents to rape their own children?" "I think that it's a kind of just doing things to try to destroy not only physically but also psychologically so they can be sure that they destroy everything, even if you..." " lt's the family." " Yeah." "In life, now you are completely, completely destroyed." "So, they plucked his eyes out and they cut off his ears and then they killed the father?" " Yeah." " Yes." " (Baby crying) - (Chatter)" "Most of the women and children here are now living as refugees in the hospital, because they are no longer welcome in their own communities." "(Women chatter)" "The thing that's making me rather angry is the fact that this has been going on for some ten years and shows no sign of letting up." "Er... I, personally, now want to go, if I can, and face the men that are capable of plucking a father's eyes out because he won't rape his own daughter and then killing him." "Men who are capable of raping a three-year-old child." "Men who are capable of raping a woman and then putting a gun inside her and pulling the trigger." "I want to meet people that are capable of doing those things and ask them why." "I'm in Goma, the capital of the war-torn Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo." "Rape and unspeakable acts of sexual violence as well as the recruitment of thousands of child soldiers have become hallmarks of this brutal conflict, which has already claimed millions of lives." "The streets of Goma are bristling with guns, some belonging to the Congolese army and others to the United Nations, who are trying to bring peace to this troubled region." "More than a decade of conflict have left a legacy of chaos and corruption." "(Whistle blows )" "I've met a local journalist who's trying to help me make sense of what's going on here." "This is a business culture in Goma." " Yeah?" " Yeah, all the business is done here." "But this country has more minerals, more gold, has oil, has all the things that could make this the richest country in Africa." "journalist:" "Of course." "The problem is the leadership." "The leadership is not good." "They work for feeding their stomachs." "They don't care about the population." "What kind of corruption?" "How corrupt are things round here?" "journalist:" "The agents who work in the government, they don't get well paid." "So, since they don't receive a good pay, they have children, they have families, they need to ask for blessings." " Blessings, you call it?" " Yes." "That's a bribe, we call it." "But it's called a blessing here, yeah?" "Yeah." "I want to come face to face with the men capable of carrying out the horrific crimes that we heard about in Panzi Hospital, and the obvious place to start is the city's jail." "The UN described this as the worst prison in Africa." "Originally built to house 150 prisoners, it now has nearly 1,000." " Bonjour." " Bonjour." "OK." "Are most of those people in that prison for murder and for rape?" "Or are they in there for other crimes against society?" "Are most of the prisoners in there military, ex-militia?" "I find it hard to believe that these warring factions, who have been fighting and killing each other for over a decade, are not kept in a separate jail." "Bonjour." "Ca va?" "(Singing anthem )" "All the prisoners, numbering 968 on the day that we visited, are crammed into the prison yard, less than the size of a football pitch." "(Singing anthem )" "Only about a third of the men here, the ones in orange jumpsuits, have so far been tried and convicted." "The rest are on remand awaiting trial." "There are no guards." "The prison is run by captains drawn from the prisoners themselves." "I can't help feeling slightly vulnerable amongst this group of 1,000 men, most of whom are accused of rape and murder." "One of the prison captains offers to show me the cell he's in charge of." "And this is a cell for how many men?" " Forty-four?" " Yeah, in a cell." " lt's difficult to see." "There's no light." " There is no power." "Despite the overcrowding, I can't help feeling I'm being shown the nicest cell in the prison." "This time last year, one of the militias tried to spring a senior member from the prison using AK-47s and grenades." "In the ensuing chaos, the prisoners broke into the women's wing of the jail and gang-raped more than 20 women." "The prison authorities have arranged for me to meet Shumbo Chance, a militiaman tried and convicted of rape." "Bonjour." "Bonjour?" "Hello?" "Are you OK?" "So, how old were you when you first joined the army?" "Are you guilty of rape?" "Did you hurt her?" "Did you put a knife to her or anything?" "Did you beat her?" "Do you feel sorry for what happened to that woman?" "Do you feel remorse?" "Shumbo Chance is the only rapist the prison authorities will allow me to speak to." "If I'm going to come face to face with the kind of militiamen who subjected the women we met at Panzi Hospital to such inhuman acts of torture and mutilation, I'm going to have to look further afield." "MONUC, as it is known, is the biggest UN force on the planet." "There are 18,500 blue-helmeted troops here trying to support the Congolese army in their attempts to stamp out the Hutu militia known as the FDLR." "We're on our way to the UN airport in Goma." "We're gonna pick up a helicopter and travel 250 clicks north to a place called Walikale." "When we get there we're gonna RV with the UN troops." "The bush that surrounds Walikale is infested with FDLR soldiers, and the UN troops at the moment are very much on their guard because one of their soldiers was shot dead yesterday." "Although there are no international flights in or out of Goma, there are plenty of military ones." "(Low chatter)" "While we're waiting for the flight, a memorial ceremony is taking place at the airport for the UN peacekeeper who was just shot dead by unidentified militiamen." "(Low chatter)" "(Man speaking on radio )" "Where we're heading, there are no roads." "We're flying upcountry, where the Hutu militia are hidden deep in the jungle." "The main roads around the remote town of Walikale have long since disintegrated, and the only practical way of getting in or out is on the twice-weekly UN supply flight." "That's it." "(Ross sighs )" "Oh, that's a welcome breeze." "I have to say this is, um... as hot as Afghanistan." "Really is incredibly humid here and very different from where we've been down in Goma." "Thousands of Hutu militiamen, including their leader, are hidden deep in the jungle surrounding Walikale." "Perched on a hilltop above the town is the UN's command base, home to 100 peacekeepers from the Indian army unit the Fighting Fifth." "The battalion distinguish themselves in counter-terrorism operations in India before being posted to the Congo." "There are no hospital or medical facilities here, and we are entirely dependent on the UN for our security if anything goes wrong." "Captain Thao Bogalsar is coming to the end of a one-year tour." "How often do you patrol this area?" "Every day." "Once in the morning and once at night." "So, what problems do you face in terms of patrolling here?" "The only problem here is that you cannot really tell when the FDLR is going to attack or loot any village." "They can come any time." "(Chatter)" "Part of the UN's role here, in conjunction with the Congolese army, is to try to protect innocent villages caught in the crossfire." "We suddenly come across a contingent from the Congolese army." "But we soon realise that some of the soldiers here are former members of another militia group known as the CNDP, started by the Tutsis who took up arms against the Hutus who came across the border from Rwanda after the genocide." "Now they've joined forces with the Congolese army to try to defeat a common enemy, the Hutus." "Now, it's well known that the CNDP were responsible for going into villages, raping, murdering, looking for Hutus, killing them, and now they're integrated into the government, and they're actually working hand in hand or alongside with the United Nations here." "Um...you know, I can't ask the captain to comment on that because it's not his job, but the fact is that, you know, you now have a lot of people that are responsible" "for...for killings, for raping and for murdering, who are now part of the regular Congolese army." "As we travel deeper into the jungle, the likelihood of enemy attack increases." "I get the sense the UN troops are keen to get back to base, and they're not the only ones." "Right, that's..." "I think that's just about it." "We're now back in Walikale." "It's still very hot even though it..." "it's gone dark, virtually." "But I have to say I, for one, am very happy that we're back with the vehicles." "Unfortunately, the UN can't put us up at their base, and we're forced to find accommodation in town, which is basic, to say the least." "It has no electricity, food or running water." "But during the night, I discover it has plenty of bedbugs, mos9uitos and rats." "Although we have still seen no sign of the Hutu militia, who are being hunted by the UN and the Congolese army, I have now managed to make contact with another notorious armed group, the Mayi-Mayi." "The Mayi-Mayi are a Congolese militia group originally set up to defend themselves against the other militias that would come in and attack their villages." "That said, we have heard that now they operate independently as a militia, that they...that they're responsible for rape and also they have many young soldiers fighting for them." "There are still some 8,000 child soldiers estimated to be out in the bush, and the Mayi-Mayi use children on a frequent basis." "(Singing)" "Hello." "The Mayi-Mayi commanders have organised a traditional African welcome for us, and we're taken to a nearby parade ground." "The Mayi-Mayi act as a kind of self-defence militia, and they even include women amongst their ranks." "(Whooping)" "Are there some very young soldiers here?" "Do they ever have very young soldiers?" "What age can you become Mayi-Mayi?" "After the parade, the Mayi-Mayi commanders are keen to tell me why they felt forced to take up arms." "Can you tell me why the Mayi-Mayi was formed?" "The ancestors had given you special herbs to make you strong?" "What are those herbs?" "So, if you take these herbs, the bullets are no good?" "But we have been told that members of the Mayi-Mayi have raped women." "is there any truth in that?" "I can't say I'm sad to be leaving Walikale." "But just to show how complex the situation is, shortly after our visit, in an unlikely alliance," "Mayi-Mayi and Hutu militias joined together and entered a village just 30 miles from the UN base and systematically gang-raped nearly 200 women and children over a four-day period." "The UN could do nothing to stop this prolonged and horrifying attack." "I now want to find out how the militias fund this brutal war, through the control of the lucrative mineral trade." "(Man speaking on radio )" "One of the Congo's most sought-after minerals is coltan." "It's used in consumer electronics which find their way onto our high streets." "(Horn sounds ) I want to go and see a coltan mine for myself but so bad is the reputation of the mineral industry here, and its role in funding the war, that the Congolese authorities want to prevent us filming one" "and have told us it's too dangerous." "But we are determined to find one." "I'm on my way into an area formerly controlled by the Tutsi militia known as the CNDP, who have fought against both the Congolese army and the Hutu militia." "The UN have told us it's not safe to travel this road and are providing us with a military escort who we're meeting at a rendezvous 50 miles west of Goma." "Hello?" "Pleased to meet you." "From the back?" " Rather than from the front?" " (Laughs ) I prefer it the other way around, generally." "With the UN bringing up the rear, we drive into an area they have told us is highly dangerous." "The mine we're going to produces cassiterite, which is used for soldering, as well as coltan, used the world over in electronic goods like laptops, computer games and remote controls." "In recent years, there has been fierce fighting for control of the mine between the militias and the Congolese army." "Right, well, we've reached the end of the road, quite literally." "We're having to say goodbye to our UN escort, and we've now got about an hour's trek down to the mine." "If they don't directly control a mine, the militias seek to raise money by setting up roadblocks or ambushes along routes like this one." "Often it's women like those we met at Panzi Hospital who are made to carry the minerals." "The militias demand what they call taxes using the threat of violence, rape or murder." "This really is sort of idyllic, walking down here and it really doesn't give you a true flavour of what it's really like here." "I mean, there are armed militias all around here." "Obviously, we haven't bumped into them yet and, to be honest, I hope that we don't." "If we do run into a militia now, our UN protection is an hour away." "That, if I'm not mistaken, is what we've come all this way for." "That is a coltan and cassiterite mine." "(Chatter)" "Once the coltan leaves Goma, it's shipped to the Far East, where it's smelted." "By then the blood minerals from the Congo are untraceable." "They may be sold on to electronic giants worldwide." "So, these guys have been sifting for a considerable amount of time and they've actually produced that black material from washing it out of the chalk soil." "So, how much ore do you think is actually there?" "How long would it have taken them to have made that ten dollars?" "How long have you been working here?" "What do you think happens to all the coltan that you dig up?" "Do you know where it goes?" "But do you know what it's used for?" "Do you understand where it goes in terms of electronic equipment et cetera?" "But the owner of the mine knows all too well where it ends up." "This is coltan here, and in my hand here, which is considerably heavier, is cassiterite." "But the mine owner here is telling me that when he gets this to the market in Goma that this goes for about five to six dollars, the cassiterite, a kilo, and this can go as much as twenty dollars a kilo." "The DRC has an estimated two thirds of the world's coltan, essential to our high-tech lives." "I find it hard to believe that in the 21st century miners here are still digging it out with their bare hands." "Quite simply, the taxes levied from mines like this one fund the war." "They end up paying for..." "for RPGs and for AK-47 s." "The United Nations have said that multinationals who end up buying coltan aren't funding the war but they're the driving force behind it." "Here's a thought." "Maybe the camera that's filming me, and possibly the mobile phone that's in your pocket right now, has blood on it from the Congo." "I'm in Goma, the capital of the war-torn region of the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo." "From the beginning of my journey, I've wanted to come face to face with the men who are capable of committing the most horrific crimes of sexual violence that have become the feature of this deadly conflict." "Now we've finally made contact with someone who's prepared to talk about the crimes he's committed." "We're on our way to meet an ex-child soldier." "His nickname was Satan, because he was so violent when he was in the militia." "Apparently, he...he's gonna talk to us about the fact that he's raped people and he's murdered people." "Satan has never been arrested or tried for the war crimes he's committed, and he's insisted that he remain anonymous." "We're meeting him at a secret location in the city." "Can you tell me what your name is?" "Can you tell me how old you were when you joined the militia?" "How many other child soldiers were with you when you were in the militia?" "You tell me about the training that you received when you first joined the militia." "Were you ever in a situation where it was child fighting child, because you were allegedly so fearless?" "What were the orders that you carried out?" "Did you rape women when you were in these villages?" "How old were you when you participated in a rape?" "Does it not upset you, and do you not feel guilty about what you did?" "Did any of your group ever cut women with machetes or kill them after they raped them?" "Um..." "Do you think when the rapes happened that they were commanded by your officers to intimidate the population, or were they just allowing you to have fun or enjoy yourself?" "We've just met an ex-child soldier who openly admits to murder, rape, and, I have to be honest, showed very little remorse about what he'd done when he was in the militia." "Um..." "The fact that he's showing no remorse I think probably has a lot to do with his age." "I don't think he's come to terms yet with what he actually did and what he experienced." "But, also, I have to say..." "You couldn't see his face." "He's awfully young." "Unfortunately, I've looked into the eyes of a number of people who are killers, and, whether it was inside him beforehand or whether it was beaten into him, that man now has the eyes of what I would consider to be a killer," "and I think his life is changed forever because of that." "And, unfortunately, he, like many others, probably has a horrible future." "It's time for me to leave the Congo." "But on my last day, there are more police and soldiers on the streets of Goma than I've seen before." "It's the 50th anniversary of the Congo's independence from Belgium this year, and the country's president, Joseph Kabila, has called on the UN to pull out all of its 18,500 peacekeepers before the next election in September 2011." "But many people believe that Kabila plans to use the state of anarchy caused by the UN's withdrawal to cancel the election, declare martial law, and cling onto power." "(Chatter) I wonder what Dr Mukwege, who has treated the most severe rape victims at Panzi hospital for a decade now, makes of the situation his country faces." "There are rumours that the United Nations army here might be leaving, the forces." "What do you think will happen?" "What the soldiers have taken." "Around the world." "But it's been happening for ten years." "Yeah, because this is black Africa, do you think?" "But it's a possibility." " Mm-hm, we're all human beings." " Yeah." "Despite the presence of the United Nations, this country's the scene of the biggest human tragedy of the 21st century." "Since its creation, the Congo has been systematically raped of its natural resources both from outside and from within." "The levels of brutality and sexual violence I have witnessed here are subhuman, and I'm quite embarrassed about how little I knew about what was really going on here." "This is a country where murder and rape are so commonplace they've actually become the norm, and it's hard to believe that things could get much worse here." "But if the United Nations are forced to pull out, then the consequences for the people of the Congo are quite simply unimaginable, and future generations will ask the question why all of us sat back and did nothing."