Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on September 26, 2024, condemning military actions by the M23 rebel group and Rwandan Defence Forces (RDF) near Goma, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). According to HRW, both M23 and RDF launched attacks indiscriminately, targeting areas densely populated by civilians and internally displaced persons (IDPs), resulting in numerous deaths. The Congolese army (FARDC) and allied armed groups were also implicated in heightening risks for civilians by positioning heavy weapons close to IDP camps and committing abuses inside these camps.
HRW reported attempts to obtain responses from the parties mentioned in the report, including M23, RDF, and FARDC, but no replies were received before publication. BBC Gahuzamiryango also reached out to spokespersons from M23, the Rwandan government, and the Congolese government, without receiving any response. Rwanda and M23 have previously denied such allegations, including during an incident in May 2024 when they were accused by the United States of firing at Mugunga IDP camp on the outskirts of Goma.
The HRW report includes statements by Clémentine de Montjoye, a senior researcher at the organization’s Africa division, who emphasized the situation from earlier this year when M23 and RDF encircled areas near Goma, cutting off vital supply routes to the city. As a result, approximately 500,000 civilians found themselves exposed to heavy artillery exchanges between RDF and FARDC. In North Kivu, about 2.4 million people have been displaced due to the ongoing conflict, with the United Nations estimating a total of seven million internally displaced people across DRC, marking an all-time high for the country.
One of the most devastating attacks documented in the report occurred on May 3, when M23 and RDF allegedly launched at least three rockets towards IDP camps in Lac Vert and Mugunga, located around 15 kilometers west of Goma. One rocket struck the Mugunga camp, killing at least 17 civilians, including 15 children, and injuring 35 others. De Montjoye noted that FARDC forces were also responsible for civilian abuses, highlighting instances where they entered IDP camps and fired on civilians, including children. She mentioned an incident where a FARDC soldier, after refusing to pay for a drink, opened fire, killing a young girl; in retaliation, local residents killed the soldier.
The report also details accounts of sexual violence committed by both Congolese soldiers and members of the Wazalendo militia, targeting individuals within IDP camps and during raids aimed at looting civilians. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported that between November 2023 and April 2024, one in ten young women in IDP camps near Goma experienced sexual violence. HRW also heard testimonies of women being raped by M23 rebels while they ventured back to their homes for food.
HRW called for FARDC and RDF to take immediate measures to protect civilians, such as refraining from setting up military positions near IDP camps and distinguishing between civilian and military targets. De Montjoye also called for accountability among military leaders, urging them to present clear strategies to prevent such abuses and to punish perpetrators when violations occur.
The report further urged the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States to maintain or increase sanctions against M23 leaders, other armed groups, and senior officials from both DRC and Rwanda involved in the recent atrocities. De Montjoye highlighted that providing weapons to militias like M23 and Wazalendo should be considered complicity in war crimes, calling for international actors to exert pressure on both sides to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law.
The renewed conflict between M23 and FARDC has been ongoing since late 2021. In a report published in July 2024, UN experts stated that Rwanda had deployed up to 4,000 troops in DRC to support M23. At that time, a Rwandan government spokesperson did not deny these allegations but instead criticized the Congolese government for lacking political will to resolve the crisis in eastern DRC, which is deeply connected to the region’s wealth in minerals and decades of unrest.
This HRW report, therefore, highlights the grave situation in eastern Congo, calling attention to the devastating impacts on civilians caught in the crossfire of a conflict fueled by regional interests, mineral wealth, and entrenched political instability.
