in recent weeks. Many thousands have been displaced and are living in fear of their children being abducted. Their situation could hardly be any worse." The UN had begun airlifting relief supplies in as of December 9. Casualties While specific casualties have not been released, various sources have reported that an estimated 45,000 people die a month in the Congo, mostly of malnutrition and disease. Congo's monthly death rate of 2.2 deaths for each 1,000 people – essentially unchanged from the last survey in 2004 – is nearly 60 percent higher than the average for sub-Saharan Africa. After the October 29 ceasefire, looting in Goma by Congolese soldiers was said to have caused at least 20 deaths and another 50 civilians were killed during the battle for Kiwanja. Death tolls as of November 7 were reported to be in the hundreds for civilians, though an estimated 1,400 die every day. The Human Rights Watch stated that they had found at least 150 dead civilians in the town of Kiwanja who had been "summarily executed" by rebels. HRW reported in a statement 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." Also, it reported another "18 deliberate killings in November and December perpetrated by the CNDP, the Mai-Mai and their allies", and received reports of "another 25 deaths, although ongoing insecurity has made it impossible to verify all such information." War crimes Speculation of war crimes began when a UN team reported the deaths of 26 non-combatants in the village of Kiwanja, said to have been killed by rebels working with government troops. Nkunda denied these claims, stating that the 'non-combatants' were Mai-Mai militia dressed in civilian clothing. On November 19, child soldiers were confirmed to have been used by multiple factions, including rebel, government and militia forces. According to Save the Children spokesman George Graham 3,000 children were being used in various combat roles in the Congo; most were forced in by threats of bodily harm or harm to loved ones. UNICEF stated that the Congo was the "worst place in the world to be for a child". On November 26 the United Nations began investigations on war crimes in the conflict, stating "alarming" evidence of "target killings and possibly massacres of civilians". This was