Women tied between trees and gang-raped by six men while M23 fighters execute over 140 civilians in brutal campaign of terror across North and South Kivu provinces
A devastating Amnesty International report has exposed horrific sexual violence and mass killings in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, revealing how both Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and government-aligned Wazalendo militias are systematically targeting civilians in an escalating humanitarian catastrophe that has displaced over seven million people.
The human rights organisation documented harrowing testimonies from survivors between March and May this year, including a woman who was tied between two trees and gang-raped by six Wazalendo fighters. “Let them be punished so they don’t do such acts to someone else,” the survivor told investigators.
The shocking revelations come just weeks after Human Rights Watch reported that M23 fighters killed at least 140 people in July in one of the worst atrocities since the rebel group’s resurgence in 2021.
Systematic Campaign of Terror
Amnesty International interviewed 14 survivors of sexual violence, finding that eight were raped by M23 fighters, five by Wazalendo militia, and one by soldiers from the Congolese army (FARDC). The abuses form part of what the organisation describes as a deliberate campaign of intimidation aimed at terrorising civilian populations.
“For the women of eastern DRC, nowhere is safe; they are raped in their homes, in the fields, or camps where they seek shelter,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.
During one particularly brutal assault, Kinyarwanda-speaking men, believed to be Nyatura fighters allied with Wazalendo, accused their victim of supporting M23. They chillingly told her that “any women who come to the field, we will always rape them,” according to the Amnesty report.
July Massacres: Bodies Thrown in Rivers
Human Rights Watch has provided devastating details of the July killings, with witnesses describing M23 fighters using machetes and gunfire to massacre men, women, and children across 14 villages around Virunga National Park between 10 and 30 July.
One man recalled: “We woke up on 11 July and [the M23] were there in large numbers… They were already on our doorstep… They killed people with guns and machetes.” Five members of his family were killed.
Villagers discovered the bodies of a 47-year-old man and his four children, aged 11 to 17, in a field about 18 kilometres from Kiseguru. We found him in his field with his head cut off,” said a man who found and buried them. “They were all killed with machetes. Their throats were cut.”
Forced to Watch Family Murders
In one of the most harrowing accounts, a woman who saw M23 fighters kill her husband with a machete on 11 July described being rounded up with other women and children. Around 10am, we were forced to walk toward the place where our lives were going to end,” she said. “We walked in silence. If a child started crying, they threatened to kill them. They killed with knives.”
She was part of a group of about 70 people, including women and girls, forced to march all day to the Kitchuru Rivers. “They told us to sit on the edge of the riverbank, and then they started shooting at us,” she recalled. The woman identified 47 people, including children, who were killed in the execution. She survived by falling into the river before being shot.
Another man watched from afar as rebels killed his wife and four children aged between nine months and 10 years, unable to reach them in time.
Bodies Dumped in Rivers, Funerals Forbidden
M23 fighters threw bodies, including those of women and children, into the Rutshuru River and ordered locals to immediately bury victims in fields or leave them unburied, preventing families from organising funerals. Human Rights Watch received information that mass killings by the Rutshuru River continued for several days, with executions continuing until at least 30 July.
HRW believes the true death toll may exceed 300, echoing similar UN findings.
Gang Rapes in Military Camps
Within the latest Amnesty report, one woman described being raped by five M23 fighters inside a military camp in Bukavu. “When I see someone in a military uniform, I’m traumatised. Since that day, I do not go out. When I see them, I feel pain in my heart. It’s like a heart palpitation,” she said.
The gang rapes by M23 fighters occurred between March and May 2025 when the rebels controlled Goma and Bukavu, the capitals of North and South Kivu provinces respectively. Five survivors told Amnesty that M23 fighters raped them at military positions.
Hospitals Attacked, Activists Targeted
Amnesty documented how M23 fighters stormed hospitals in Goma six times, abducting patients and medical staff, including wounded soldiers receiving care. Civil society activists, journalists, and lawyers have also been systematically targeted.
One activist detained in March said M23 interrogators had detailed knowledge of his work: “It was like they had all the info on us,” he said. The M23 fighters whipped him both nights of his detention. “They really beat me. They had whips. They beat me on the buttocks. They slapped me in my ears which caused my nose to bleed.”
Another activist, Aloys Bigirumwami, was abducted in May along with five others and has not been seen since.
Regional Conflict Escalates
The atrocities come despite multiple peace initiatives. In June, the DRC and Rwanda signed a US-brokered peace deal in Washington, followed by a ceasefire agreement in Doha, Qatar, in July. However, last week M23 walked away from negotiations, accusing Kinshasa of failing to meet its commitments.
Fighting has resumed across North and South Kivu, leaving civilians once again caught in the crossfire. Since January, the M23 offensive has seized large parts of the mineral-rich east, including the regional capital Goma.
Rwanda’s Military Support
According to an April 2024 UN report, between 3,000 and 4,000 Rwandan Defence Force troops were present in eastern DRC, possibly outnumbering the estimated 3,000 M23 combatants. The UN Group of Experts on Congo estimated that the Ugandan military also provided “active support for M23.”
DRC President Felix Tshisekedi has accused Rwanda of waging a “disguised aggression” against his country, asserting that “the M23 is a screen behind which the Rwandan army hides.”
International Response
Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have urged the UN Security Council, the European Union, and world governments to impose sanctions on those responsible and press for prosecutions.
“Rwanda and the DRC cannot continue shunning responsibility; they must hold all perpetrators accountable,” Chagutah warned. It’s time for DRC’s President Felix Tshisekedi to honour his commitment to justice and accountability and ensure that Wazalendo fighters who committed crimes are brought to justice.
HRW has called on Rwanda to allow UN and independent forensic experts into areas under M23 control to investigate the atrocities.
Humanitarian Catastrophe
The UN reports that over 7.3 million people have been internally displaced by the conflict, making it one of the largest displacement crises in the world. In North Kivu alone, 2.4 million people have been displaced, with over half a million seeking refuge in camps surrounding Goma.
Médecins Sans Frontières reported treating more than 25,000 survivors of sexual violence in 2023, with the trend continuing in 2024. Around 40% of sexual violence survivors were girls, according to UNICEF.
For ordinary Congolese civilians, there is little hope. As one woman, raped while pregnant, told Amnesty: “They told me if my daughter doesn’t go back into the room, they would kill her. I thought I was going to die.”
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Image Credit (Shortened):
M23 troops in Bunagana (7 July 2012) – by Al Jazeera English, licensed under CC BY‑SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
