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dozen senior officers in the Congolese army have beenarrested for responsibility for mass rapes committed by several army units ineastern Congo in November 2012, Congolese Justice Minister Wivine Mumba toldThe Associated Press on Saturday.

The arrests come more than two weeksafter the United Nations pressed the Congolese government to take action in thecase. The UN said that if the Congolese government refused to prosecute thesuspects, the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, known as Monusco, would suspendits collaboration with the army units suspected of committing the rapes.

'The human rightsdivision of the Monusco carried out an investigation and presented its resultsto the government and the army. We have a policy of conditionality regardingour collaboration with the Congolese army. If no action had been taken we wouldhave suspended our collaboration with the said units of the Congolese army,'said Madnoje Mounoubai, the Monusco spokesman in Kinshasa