Armed groups fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have carried out horrific abuses against civilians, including gang rapes, abductions and summary executions, Amnesty International said Wednesday in a new report that warns the atrocities may amount to war crimes.
The London-based rights group said both the Rwanda-backed March 23 Movement (M23) and the Wazalendo, a coalition of militias supported by the Congolese army, are responsible for widespread violations of international humanitarian law as they battle for control of territory in North and South Kivu provinces.
“The brutality of the warring parties knows no bounds; these atrocities are intended to punish, intimidate and humiliate civilians,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s regional director for East and Southern Africa.
Amnesty’s briefing, titled “DRC: ‘They said we would die’: M23 and Wazalendo abuses in eastern Congo,” documents attacks on hospitals, enforced disappearances of civil society members, torture of detainees, and sexual violence against women and girls.
Survivors Detail Sexual Violence
Of 14 survivors of sexual violence interviewed by Amnesty, eight said they were raped by M23 fighters, five by Wazalendo fighters, and one by Congolese soldiers. Many survivors described being assaulted at military camps or during raids on villages.
Beatrice, a woman from Bukavu who was gang raped by five M23 fighters, said she now lives in fear of anyone wearing a uniform. “When I see them, I feel pain in my heart. It’s like a heart palpitation,” she told Amnesty.
In one case, a woman was tied between two trees and gang raped by six Wazalendo fighters. Another survivor, pregnant at the time, was assaulted by two Congolese soldiers as her 14-year-old daughter screamed from a nearby room.
“For the women of eastern DRC, nowhere is safe; they are raped in their homes, in the fields, or camps where they seek shelter,” Chagutah said. “The world must say enough.”
Killings and Disappearances
The report also details extrajudicial killings and abductions by M23 fighters. Amnesty documented five killings between February and May, including a father and son in South Kivu and three men in Goma. Victims were either shot or had their throats cut.
Civil society members, journalists and lawyers have also been targeted. Amnesty said M23 fighters tortured detainees and forcibly disappeared activists, including youth leader Aloys Bigirumwami, who has not been seen since May.
Hospitals were attacked six times during the same period, with M23 fighters abducting patients and medical staff, including wounded Congolese soldiers hiding in facilities.
Calls for Accountability
Amnesty urged Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi to hold Wazalendo fighters accountable and ensure their demobilization. It also called on Rwanda to guarantee its forces in Congo comply with international humanitarian law.
The group pressed Qatar, which hosted recent peace talks between the Congolese government and M23, to demand an end to abductions and forced disappearances. It also urged the United States to push Kinshasa to vet its security forces and remove members implicated in abuses.
Amnesty said it interviewed 53 victims and witnesses, including survivors of sexual violence, relatives of those killed or disappeared, medical professionals and human rights defenders. The organization said it requested responses from both the Congolese army and M23 to specific allegations but received no reply.
“Rwanda and the DRC cannot continue shunning responsibility; they must hold all perpetrators accountable,” Chagutah said.
