The March 23 Movement/Alliance Fleuve Congo (M23/AFC) has strongly rejected a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) accusing the rebel group of forced recruitment and abusive detention of thousands of captured combatants and civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), amid renewed fighting in parts of North and South Kivu.
The response comes after HRW released a 78-page report alleging that M23 carried out large-scale forced recruitment campaigns and detained civilians and combatants in camps in Rumangabo and Tshanzu in North Kivu Province. The report, titled “Death Was Everywhere: Arbitrary Detention, Killings, and Forced Recruitment by the M23 and the Rwanda Defence Force,” claims that arrests and roundups were conducted between mid-2024 and December 2025 across North and South Kivu.
HRW said it interviewed 102 former detainees, witnesses, UN officials, M23 representatives, military sources, journalists, and diplomats. It also relied on verified videos, photographs, satellite imagery, and 3D reconstructions of the Rumangabo and Tshanzu camps. According to the report, thousands of Congolese soldiers, police officers, members of the Wazalendo militia, and civilians—including children as young as 12—were forcibly recruited, particularly after M23 captured large areas in 2025.
However, M23/AFC spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka dismissed the report as “deeply unbalanced, selective, inaccurate, and disconnected from realities on the ground.” Kanyuka accused HRW of focusing disproportionately on M23 while ignoring alleged abuses by forces allied to the Kinshasa government, questioning the organisation’s neutrality and credibility.
He maintained that M23’s recruitment is voluntary and publicly documented through videos and images, arguing that describing it as forced recruitment misrepresents events on the ground. Kanyuka also claimed that civilians and children have been seen alongside government-aligned forces and accused those forces of bombing civilian areas in regions such as Masisi and Minembwe—allegations that could not be independently verified.
He urged HRW to apply consistent investigative standards to all parties in the conflict and called on the public and international partners not to treat the report’s findings as definitive. Despite the dispute over the report, fighting continued on Wednesday in Mikenge, Kakenge, Kalingi, and surrounding areas in Fizi Territory, South Kivu Province, as Congolese army forces (FARDC) and allied coalitions attempted to retake Mikenge, which fell to M23 earlier in the week.
Heavy gunfire was also reported in Kashovu in Ufamandu and Kasenyi in the Kibabi area of Masisi Territory, North Kivu, forcing civilian displacement and disrupting economic activity. The government of the DRC has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting M23, claims denied by both Kigali and M23 leadership. The rebel group says its campaign is aimed at addressing governance issues, including discrimination and corruption in the DRC. In early 2025, M23 launched a rapid offensive in eastern Congo, capturing several strategic towns and heightening fears of a broader regional escalation-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
