A woman who was gang-raped and burned in her house has told a military
court in the Democratic Republic of Congo she saw an army colonel give
the orders, the British Broadcasting Corporation reports.
She is one of some 1,000 people who have named Lt Col Bedi Mobuli
Engangela, who is on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
He has denied all the charges.
The UN says the trial is a test case for the Congolese military, which
has often failed to convict high-ranking officers accused of sexual
violence.
The woman, whose name was not disclosed, insisted on showing her
wounds to the judges.
But she did not want Engangela to see her, so she entered the
courtroom wearing an outfit that covered her whole body, including her
face. She sat in a box with a hole on one side.
Only the judges peered in as she removed her veil. They flinched.
She told the court in the town of Kalehe, South Kivu province, she was
raped four times during an attack from Engangela's troops on her
village.
The men then set her straw hut on fire with her and her son still
inside, she said.
Egangela started his career in the army under former President Joseph
Mobutu, before deserting to join a militia.
He was reintegrated into the army as part of a peace deal in 2005 and
became commander of the 106 battalion in South Kivu, and is often
known as Colonel 106.
But between 2005-2007, he is accused of deserting again, recruiting
child soldiers and ordering attacks on several villages. He also
allegedly collaborated with the Rwandan FDLR rebel group, based in DR
Congo.
Sexual violence is a major problem in eastern DR Congo, where several
armed groups still operate more than a decade after the official end
of its conflict.
Both militias and the army have been accused but few senior officials
have been convicted.
Two soldiers were convicted of rape earlier this year, both of them low-ranking.

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