The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) has dropped a rape case against a Ghanaian soldier for lack of evidence, a MONUC spokesman said Thursday.

"There was no follow-up to this story. There wasn't even any proof" to warrant pursuing the investigation that began at the start of August, Manodje Mounoubai said.

The case arose when an 18-year-old Congolese girl claimed that she had been raped on the night of July 31 in a UN facility at Kinshasa's Ndijili airport,  which was being guarded by a Ghanaian contingent of MONUC troops.

"This was a false allegation," said Mounoubai, adding that local Congolese  officials had decided against pursuing the claim, also for lack of evidence.

The UN mission has in the past been shaken by cases of serious sexual  abuse. Rape and other violent crimes against women are a scourge in the DR  Congo, particularly in the strife-torn east of the country.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised the issue during a visit this  week to the main eastern town of Goma, where she met President Joseph Kabila on  Tuesday, then travelled to a hospital treating rape victims.

MONUC has spoken out strongly against sexual violence by rebel groups,  armed militias and soldiers of the regular DR Congo army, and the UN force must  take drastic action when rape is reported among its own ranks.

The mission can rarely bring suspects to trial on the spot, but it can hold  investigations and then send those accused back to their countries of origin to  face justice.

In September 2005, 120 Nigerian policemen were sent home by MONUC in disgrace. Some were uspected of sexual harassment against Congolese women.

Source: AFP
Photo: Flickr amalthya