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| - Hundreds of people took part in a demonstration in eastern DR Congo on Thursday to show support for Nobel laureate Denis Mukwege, who says he has received death threats. Mukwege, a Congolese gynaecologist who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for his work against sexual violence in war, said in late July that he and his family had been threatened after he condemned a massacre in his strife-torn region. Several hundred people joined a march in Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, including women he has treated in his hospital in nearby Panzi. "We are calling for Dr. Denis Mukwege to have security, for the authorities to find the people behind this threat and for the justice system to do its work," said campaigner Josaphat Baraka. Mukwege, 65, said the threats came after he had issued a tweet on July 26 condemning the massacre of 18 people in the village of Kipupu. In addition to his work as a gynaecologist, Mukwege has been campaigning for punishment of rights abuses committed during the two Congo Wars, of 1996-98 and 1998-2003, whose aftermath still afflicts the east of the country today. The UN's human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, last Friday urged the government to swiftly investigate the threats and bring those responsible to justice. President Felix Tshisekedi has promised that the interior, security and justice ministers and others will "take all measures necessary," while the UN's peacekeeping force in the DR Congo has also vowed its support. "We are working together on sustainable solutions that will enable Dr. Mukwege and the hospital to be protected by the Congolese institutions, by Congo, and obviously the mission, as a partner, will play its part," MONUSCO chief Leila Zerrougui said on Wednesday. ro-st/ri/har
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