US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has toured an African refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And she pledged 17 million dollars in US aid to help stem the tide of rampant sexual abuse.

Clinton said the people of eastern Congo are still suffering from a "reign of violence" at the hands of rebel groups and the national army.

She also said the US supports efforts to eliminate the threat from insurgents.

And Clinton added the US wants the Congolese military professionalised to prevent abuses from the government.

The UN has recorded at least 200-thousand cases of sexual violence against women and girls in the region since conflict erupted in 1996. More than 7-thousand cases of sexual violence by soldiers were reported last year.

Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, said, "I have just come from a meeting with two survivors of sexual attacks. The atrocities that these women have suffered, which stand for the atrocities that so many have suffered. The United States condemns these attacks and all those who commit them and abet them. And we state to the world that those who attack civilian populations using systematic rape are guilty of crimes against humanity."

(CCTV August 12, 2009)