They also extrajudicially executed civilians protesting against the lack of government protection. Violence against women and girls Hundreds of women and girls were subjected to sexual violence in conflict-affected areas. Perpetrators included soldiers and other state agents, as well as combatants of armed groups such as Raia Mutomboki (a coalition of groups), the FRPI and Mai-Mai Nyatura, a Hutu militia. Child soldiers Hundreds of children were recruited by armed groups, including the FRPI, Mai-Mai Nyatura, joint forces of the FDLR and its official armed wing Forces Combattantes Abacunguzi (FOCA), and the Patriotic Union for the Defense of the Innocent (UDPI). Child soldiers continued to be used as combatants and also to cook, clean, collect taxes and carry goods. Communal violence Intercommunal violence between the Hutu and Nande communities escalated in Lubero and Walikale Territories of North Kivu. Both communities received support from armed groups – the Hutu community from the FDLR and the Nande community from Mai-Mai groups – which resulted in high death tolls and extensive damage to civilian property. In January and February, the fighting reached alarming levels. On 7 January, the FDLR killed at least 14 people from the Nande community in the village of Miriki, south Lubero Territory. When the local population staged protests against the lack of protection following the attack, the army fired live bullets, killing at least one protester. A few weeks later, at least 21 people from the Hutu community were killed, 40 wounded and dozens of houses burned in attacks by Nande militia. On 27 November, over 40 people were killed during an attack on a Hutu village by a Nande self-defence group. In Tanganyika province, clashes between Batwa and Luba communities revived in 140 September resulting in many deaths and much material damage. Continuing clashes resulted in summary executions, sexual violence and mass displacement. According to local chiefs and civil society organizations, over 150 schools in the district were burned down during intercommunal clashes. REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE Fighting between the army and armed groups caused high levels of displacement. In February, over 500,000 Congolese refugees were registered in neighbouring countries. By 1 August, 9 million internally displaced people (IDPs) were registered in the DRC, the majority of them in North and South Kivu Provinces. Following allegations that members of armed groups, especially the FDLR, were hiding in the camps, the government closed several IDP camps that had been set up in collaboration with UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. The closures affected an estimated 40,000 displaced people, led to further displacement and insecurity, and were widely criticized by humanitarian organizations. During the closures, numerous displaced people were victims of human rights violations by soldiers. TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT State agents as well as members of armed groups perpetrated acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The National Intelligence Agency was responsible for abductions and forms of prolonged incommunicado detention that breach the right of detainees to be treated with humanity and the absolute prohibition of torture or other ill-treatment. IMPUNITY Very few state agents, especially at senior levels, or combatants of armed groups were prosecuted for and convicted of human rights violations and abuses. A lack of both funding and judicial independence continued to pose major barriers to accountability for such crimes. Amnesty International Report 2016/17