Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released a report detailing atrocities committed by the M23 rebel group and Rwandan soldiers during their weeks-long occupation of the lakeside city of Uvira in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The investigation found evidence of the execution of 53 civilians, including 46 men, one woman, and six children, during door-to-door raids after the rebels captured the city in December.
Rwanda has consistently denied supporting the M23 or deploying its soldiers to resource-rich eastern DRC. However, HRW says many of the 130 residents interviewed alleged witnessing atrocities committed by uniformed Rwandan soldiers as well as M23 fighters. One resident said: "They [M23 fighters] shot my neighbour first in the head." Another reported seeing four family members killed: "I wasn't hit so I just ran to the lake. I saw my brother, his wife, and two of his children fall."
The M23 captured Uvira days after US President Donald Trump allegedly brokered a peace deal between DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame. The US and European powers accuse Rwanda of supporting the rebel offensive, and UN experts have said Rwanda had "de facto control" of M23 operations, with recruits trained under Rwandan supervision and supported by high-tech Rwandan weaponry.
The HRW report documents eight cases of rape allegedly committed by the rebels and Rwandan soldiers. One woman recounted: "They took my clothes off completely, tied my arms behind my back with my clothes, and raped me." When her husband attempted to intervene, he was shot dead. Another woman said men in Rwandan uniforms told her: "If you don't do what I tell you, I will kill you."
HRW says it wrote to the Rwandan government and M23 leaders in April but received no response. The organization believes the atrocities, including abductions, enforced disappearances, and forced recruitment, amount to war crimes. Investigators also visited three mass graves in Uvira, including one at a site previously controlled by UN peacekeepers.
Children were reportedly targeted and shot after being accused of being pro-government fighters. A 12-year-old boy survived despite being shot by M23 fighters who then "stabbed him in the leg with a bayonet to check if he was dead."
A separate UNICEF report found more than 35,000 cases of sexual violence against children in the first nine months of 2025, mostly in North and South Kivu provinces where M23 controls territory. The persistent violence has displaced nearly two million people in South Kivu alone.
Source: www.bbc.com