Nairobi/Kinshasa - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Tuesday called on the Congolese government to tackle sexual violence against women, during a visit to the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The sprawling Central African nation's bloody war officially ended in 2003, but various rebel groups have kept the conflict running in the eastern provinces, bringing violence and terror to civilians.

"We believe there should be no impunity for the sexual and gender- based violence committed by so many," Clinton said in the eastern town of Goma, where many internally displaced people are sheltering after being forced to flee their homes.

"There must be arrests and prosecutions and punishment," she added.

The United Nations estimates that around 3,500 women have been raped in the conflict since the start of the year. Blame has been assigned to all parties in the conflict, in which government troops are attempting to put down a Rwandan Hutu rebel group.

Tens of thousands more women have been victims of sexual violence over the last decade.

On the fourth leg of her Africa tour, Clinton visited the Mugunga refugee camp and met residents who told her of their hand-to-mouth existence and the threat of violence and rape from government and rebel troops.

Clinton earlier met President Joseph Kabila and said she pushed him to end impunity. She also offered to send a team of legal and technical experts to make recommendations and pledged 17 million dollars in funding for programmes designed to end sexual violence.

The army late last year launched operations aimed at flushing out Hutu rebel group the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, formed by the perpetrators of the
1994 Rwandan genocide.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said that instances of rape had increased dramatically since the offensive began and that the majority of the rapes it investigated were carried out by government troops.

More than 5 million people are estimated to have died as a result of the DR Congo's 1998-2003 conflict and its long aftermath, most of them from hunger and disease.

Observers have pointed out that the simmering conflict in the east of the country has been driven by illegal mining, which lines the pockets of the various militia and government troops.

Clinton has highlighted this issue several times and touched on it again in DR Congo.

"The international community must start looking at steps we can take to try to prevent the mineral wealth ... ending up in the hands of those who fund the violence," she said.

The east of the DR Congo is rich in cassiterite and coltan, which are used widely in mobile phones.

Clinton then flew back to Kinshasa, from where she was expected to head to Nigeria on the next leg of her tour.

Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer and most-populous nation, but it is blighted by widespread institutionalized corruption.

Clinton is due to meet President Umaru Yar'Adua on Wednesday, and analysts expect her to take a tough stance on ending corruption and also instituting electoral reforms.

The top US diplomat is touring Africa to highlight the Obama administration's commitment to the continent, build trade links and promote better governance.

After Nigeria, Clinton is expected to visit Liberia and Cape Verde. She has already travelled to Kenya, South Africa and Angola.(dpa)