raised by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in a report that recommended lengthening MONUC's mission through 2009, where it was originally supposed to end at the conclusion of 2008. According to DR Congo Special Representative Alan Doss MONUC had opened "several investigations into alleged massacres and extra-judicial executions", stating that "All belligerents have committed serious atrocities against civilians... Women and children have suffered most from the recurrent fighting. Sexual violence is rampant and many armed groups continue to recruit children into their ranks." The previous killing of 26 innocents in Kiwanja by rebels was a factor in the proposal. Ban also cited the International Criminal Court's warrant for the arrest of CNDP chief of staff Bosco Ntaganda, wanted for allegedly conscripting children into service in the Ituri region of eastern Congo in 2003. On December 11, the Human Rights Watch reported that at least 150 civilians had been killed in the town of Kiwanja, where earlier estimates had placed the death toll at approximately 30. They reported that the majority of the dead civilians had been "summarily executed" by rebel troops. They also criticized MONUC peacekeepers, who had been away at the time of the incident but had not protected the town. The group stated that the practice was continuing, claiming that "following the Kiwanja killings, CNDP and Mai-Mai combatants continue to kill, rape, forcibly recruit children, and otherwise mistreat civilians in and around Kiwanja, the neighbouring town of Rutshuru, and in areas further north." On December 12, a United Nations Security Council panel reported finding conclusive evidence of Rwandan government assistance in recruiting soldiers for rebel causes, including the recruitment of child soldiers. Amnesty International, meanwhile, stated that both the rebel and government sides had condoned rape in the conflict, and said that the failure to stop the crimes "suggests that, at the very least, they systematically condone the crime and thereby implicitly encourage its persistence on a mass scale." The organization said that some victims had been threatened with death if they asked for medical attention from others. External influences The UN claimed that Angolan troops were active in the conflict, though this was denied by Angola, who had stated it would support government troops if called upon. In May 2008 China lent the DRC approximately $9 billion USD to rebuild destroyed infrastructure and revitalize industry, along with a January investment of $35 million into the Congo's