M23 detaining, abusing thousands of civilians in DR Congo: HRW

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has engaged in large-scale forced recruitment of thousands of people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, detaining them under inhumane conditions, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The rebel group, which re-emerged in 2021, has seized significant territory in eastern DRC, a region plagued by conflict for over three decades. After capturing major cities like Goma and Bukavu, M23 has intensified its operations, including widespread forced recruitment, in the areas it controls. HRW stated that the group has been detaining thousands of Congolese soldiers, militia members, and increasingly civilians, subjecting them to life-threatening treatment. The report, compiled from interviews with 102 former detainees and numerous other sources, details harrowing accounts of abductions from streets and homes, as well as roundups at public gatherings. Captives were held in makeshift detention facilities, military camps, or moved to undisclosed locations. Some, including children as young as 12, were sent to training centers or military camps where they endured weeks or months of inhumane conditions, including beatings, severe ill-treatment, and summary executions. Witnesses and former detainees described M23 fighters and Rwandan soldiers coercing individuals into joining the group under threat of death. They recounted seeing captured soldiers, fighters, and civilian men, women, and boys being beaten, sometimes fatally, as punishment or to compel enlistment. One center reportedly held individuals in cells with frequent abuse, beatings, extreme overcrowding, dehydration, and starvation. While the exact death toll remains undetermined pending the discovery of mass graves, former detainees indicated that hundreds, possibly more, died in these camps during 2025 and 2026, with the facilities reportedly still active.

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has carried out large-scale forced recruitment and other operations in areas under its control