( CNN ) -- Over the course of two June nights , attackers plundered villages in the far east of the Democratic Republic of Congo . They stole medicine from the local health center , goats from farmers , cell phones , motorcycles and other property from residents . Before fleeing , they raped and beat more than 170 women . The women were as young as 17 , as old as 90 , according to a United Nations official , who was not named because he is not authorized to speak to the media . The attacks took place in the villages of Nakyele and Abala . The humanitarian group Medicins San Frontieres reported Thursday that its medical teams in the Fizi area of Sud Kivu province had treated about 100 women for rape , abuse and trauma . It was the latest in many such incidents that have earned Congo the ignominious title of `` rape capital '' of the world . Martin Nesirky , a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon , said the global body has received `` several worrying reports about incidents of an unknown number of alleged rapes and looting . '' The United Nations mission in Congo dispatched peacekeepers to Fizi to investigate the incident . Fizi is eight hours by foot from the nearest U.N. base and , like other towns and villages in Congo , is difficult to access because of harsh terrain and a lack of infrastructure . `` People are in total despair , '' Jean Marie Ngoma , a member of the provincial parliament , said on U.N.-backed Radio Okapi . Amnesty International said the latest rapes were a result of the government 's `` horrific failure of justice . '' It said members of the same armed group were previously implicated in rapes in the same area in January . Amnesty cited local sources saying that a senior officer of the Congolese army , Col. Kifaru Niragiye , had recently learned that he was to be demoted and left a military training center June 9 with 150 soldiers . Amnesty said the group went on to raid the two villages near Fizi . Kifaru 's deputy and eight other men were convicted by a military court for crimes against humanity for the rape of at least 60 women in the January attack in Fizi , Amnesty said . `` The inability of the Democratic Republic of Congo to bring to justice members of its own army and armed groups for crimes under international law has fostered a culture of impunity , leading to attack after attack against civilians , '' said Erwin van der Borght , Amnesty International 's director for Africa . A five-year war in which more than 5 million people died ended in 2003 , but violence is still widespread in eastern Congo . Sexual violence is especially prevalent , prompting Margot Wallstrom , the U.N. special representative on sexual violence in conflict , to call Congo the rape capital of the world . An extensive study conducted between 2006 and 2007 found that more than 400,000 girls and women were raped during a 12-month period . The United Nations documented 7,500 cases of sexual violence against women and girls in North and South Kivu over the first nine months of 2009 . The fear was that many rapes had gone unreported . `` Most of the women and girls were gang-raped , some so violently that they later died , '' according to a report by Human Rights Watch , which said both the army and the rebels held women and girls as sex slaves , raped them repeatedly , and then mutilated and killed some of them . CNN 's Ben Brumfield , Azadeh Ansari and Moni Basu contributed to this report .
About 100 women near the town of Fizi treated for rape , abuse and trauma . The United Nations is investigating the incidents . Score: 6 Sexual abuse there earned Congo the title of rape capital .