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KINSHASA, Congo (AP) - A U.S.-based rights group on Monday accused soldiers in Congo's postwar, national-unity army of abducting civilians and forcing them to serve as personal attendants and mine workers in the troubled Central African country.
Human Rights Watch reported multiple incidents in August and September of government soldiers abducting people from villages for labor in the country's northeastern Ituri province, which has remained violent despite peace deals to end Congo's 1998-2002 civil war.
Human rights violations are "happening in many areas where we see a concentrated presence of the Congolese army," Human Rights Watch researcher Anneke Van Woudenberg said. "The reality is, the Congolese army is becoming the biggest human rights abuser in Congo."
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