A/HRC/24/40 B. Sexual violence 49. During the reporting period, the expansion of service provision for survivors of sexual violence to urban areas and Mogadishu in particular has permitted the UNPOS Human Rights Unit to consolidate its data collection. The data for 2012 confirm the existence of a significant pattern of sexual violence, identified already in 2011. In Mogadishu and surrounding areas, between January and November 2012, United Nations partners and service providers registered over 1,700 rape cases. 50. Almost one third of the recorded incidents were against children, including a few reported cases of sexual violence against boys. The majority of the victims of sexual violence documented by protection partners were women and girls who live in IDP camps. Most of the reported incidents took place at night while the victims slept in their huts. In some cases, it is reported that victims were subjected to multiple acts of sexual violence. 51. The perpetrators reportedly include members of organized armed groups and the Somali security forces, as well as police. However, in most cases survivors are unable to link the perpetrator to a specific armed group or security branch, or were afraid to do so for fear of retaliation. The problem of identifying perpetrators is exacerbated by the fact that military uniforms are available in the market for anyone to buy. In addition, members of the Somali security forces are reported to often operate as private security providers while off duty, because salaries are inadequate or not regularly paid. The majority of these types of attacks are carried out with automatic weapons, reaffirming the high risk for women and the urgent need for disarmament and an arms control mechanism. 52. In a well-publicized case, on 10 January 2013, in Mogadishu, the Central Investigation Department (CID) of the Somali police arrested a woman who claimed to have been raped by government forces few months earlier. They also detained two acquaintances, who had put the woman in contact with journalists. During interrogations, the head of CID allegedly compelled the woman to hand over the telephone numbers of journalists who had interviewed her. The police then called the journalist who had interviewed her and ordered him to come to their offices, which he did. The CID interrogation of the journalist apparently focused on his alleged involvement in the production of two reports on the case aired on Al-Jazeera and Universal TV. The accused however claimed that he had not reported on the case to any media nor did he interview the woman until two days after the airing of that news coverage. On 3 March, the Appeals Court in Mogadishu ordered the release of the alleged rape victim, who had previously been sentenced by the Regional Court to a one-year prison term. The charges against the journalist were also withdrawn. 53. It was reported to the UNPOS Human Rights Unit that on 9 January 2013, SNAF soldiers allegedly raped two young women in KM50 village, in the Afgoye district. According to Human Rights Unit sources, the soldiers stopped a small minibus, from which the two women, aged 19 and 21, were taken away into the forest to be raped while other soldiers robbed the remaining passengers. The Women and Child Care Organization reported that another woman, aged 40, was raped on the same day by SNAF elements in Afgoye. No perpetrators have been apprehended in relation to either incident. The Governor of the Lower Shabelle region spoke to the media, condemning the incidents and accusing SNAF. 54. Reportedly, only a small fraction of such crimes are prosecuted through the formal legal system. Between January and November 2012, the Military Court reportedly opened only 13 cases against members of the Somali security forces (two against members of the National Security Authority, one against a member of the Somalia Police Force, three against militia members and the remaining against members of SNAF). According to the most recent Human Rights Monitoring Reports, three cases had resulted in the acquittal of 11