Human Rights Watch has accused the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels of carrying out forced recruitment, arbitrary detention, and severe abuses against thousands of civilians and captured combatants in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including children as young as 12 years old. In a 78-page report released on Wednesday (June 10, 2026), the international rights organization alleged that M23 forces conducted large-scale roundups in North and South Kivu provinces between mid-2024 and December 2025, forcibly recruiting civilians, soldiers, police officers, and members of the Wazalendo militia.
The report, titled “Death Was Everywhere: Arbitrary Detention, Killings, and Forced Recruitment by the M23 and the Rwanda Defense Force (RDF),” further claims that detainees were subjected to beatings, starvation, lack of medical care, and abusive conditions at training camps in Rumangabo and Tshanzu in North Kivu Province. It also alleges that summary executions and extreme punishments were carried out against individuals who attempted to escape or who were accused of disobeying camp rules, describing the conduct as potentially amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
According to Human Rights Watch, thousands of people were affected by the recruitment campaigns, which intensified after M23 expanded territorial control across parts of eastern Congo in 2025. The organization said its findings are based on interviews with 102 former detainees, individuals who were deployed with M23 forces, and others who later surrendered to the Congolese army, alongside testimonies from witnesses, UN officials, journalists, diplomats, and security sources.
It also relied on verified and geolocated video footage, photographs, satellite imagery of the Rumangabo and Tshanzu camps, and 3D reconstructions used to estimate movement and numbers of people transported to the facilities. HRW said interviewees described being seized from checkpoints, hospitals, schools, churches, and homes, often under threats or deception, before being transported to training camps.
The report further states that some detainees reported severe punishment for minor infractions such as eating, drinking, or using facilities without permission, with some claiming that fellow captives were killed while attempting to escape. M23 has not yet issued an official response to the latest report at the time of publication. The allegations add to previous accusations made by Human Rights Watch against the rebel group. In 2013, HRW accused M23 of killing civilians in Busanza, Rutshuru Territory, while in 2025 it reported harassment of journalists and human rights activists by M23 fighters in eastern Congo.
M23 has consistently denied such allegations, accusing Human Rights Watch of bias and of publishing misleading reports influenced by the interests of the Congolese government. The Government of the DRC has repeatedly accused Rwanda of backing M23 rebels, claims denied by both Kigali and M23 leadership. M23/AFC maintains that its armed struggle is aimed at addressing corruption, discrimination, and xenophobia within the Congolese leadership. The group launched a major offensive in 2025, capturing several strategic towns and raising fears of wider regional instability-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com.
