Geneva — As fighting between M23 rebels and Congolese armed troops escalate in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights warns that the warring parties increasingly are using rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war. "Conflict-related sexual violence has been an appalling feature of armed conflict in eastern DRC for decades," said Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk.