More than 100 women have been raped in a brutal attack in a village in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a human rights report.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) claims that as many as 127 women have sought medical attention after an armed militia swept through Kikamba in South Kivu, on the evening of 1 May.

According to reports from witnesses and survivors, and gathered by MSF, roughly 60 men attacked male villagers, looted homes and raped a significant number of women, aged from 14 to 70.

"Large-scale sexual assaults linked to armed groups are, unfortunately, not exceptional within the DRC context," said Francisco Otero, MSF head of mission in South Kivu.

The organisation has been working to help victims of horrendous and endemic sexual violence in the DRC, notoriously labelled by a UN official in 2010 as the “rape capital of the world”.

Aid workers estimates as many as one in three women to the north of the country have been raped, with over 30 per cent infected with HIV as a result.

In pictures: Launch of international anti-rape summit Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: Launch of international anti-rape summit In pictures: Launch of international anti-rape summit International anti-rape summit US actress and UN special envoy Angelina Jolie (R) embraces Neema Namadamu of the DRC during the second day of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in London In pictures: Launch of international anti-rape summit International anti-rape summit UN Special Envoy and actress Angelina Jolie stands with designer Stella McCartney in front of an unfinished 'Herakut' painting at the Global Summit To End Sexual Violence In Conflict on June 10, 2014 In pictures: Launch of international anti-rape summit International anti-rape summit Angelina Jolie stands with British Foreign Secretary William Hague as they listen to an audio recording from a peace worker at the Global Summit To End Sexual Violence In Conflict In pictures: Launch of international anti-rape summit International anti-rape summit Summit co-hosts William Hague and US actress and Angelina Jolie visit exhibitors during the first day of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in east London In pictures: Launch of international anti-rape summit International anti-rape summit Angelina Jolie talks to David Cameron and William Hague as they pose for the photographers on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street In pictures: Launch of international anti-rape summit International anti-rape summit British International Development Secretary Justine Greening (third from the left) joins other campaigners against sexual violence after a meeting at 10 Downing Street as part of the four-day summit on ending sexual violence in conflict In pictures: Launch of international anti-rape summit International anti-rape summit William Hague and Angelina Jolie attend the Global Summit To End Sexual Violence In Conflict at ExCel in London In pictures: Launch of international anti-rape summit International anti-rape summit Angelina Jolie and William Hague speak at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, in London Getty Images

Last year a Human Rights Watch report claimed that militia groups and government forces were using rape as a weapon of war in order to “punish” civilians belonging to a particular ethnic group.

The DRC, located in central Africa and home to more than 75 million people, fell into a complicated civil war in 1996 that engaged more than 20 armed groups.