- The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group and the allied Alliance Fleuve Congo have threatened, detained, and attacked journalists, critics, and civil society activists since capturing Goma in January.
- Restoring a measure of normalcy to the M23 occupied cities of Goma and Bukavu will mean allowing journalists and activists to do their jobs without threats, violence, or worse. 4
- The European Union, its member states, and other concerned governments should urgently adopt further targeted sanctions against the M23 and high-level Rwandan and Congolese officials responsible for serious abuses.
The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group and the allied Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) have threatened, detained, and attacked journalists, critics, and civil society activists since capturing Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in late January 2025, Human Rights Watch said today. The Alliance Fleuve Congo is a politico-military coalition that includes the M23.
In North and South Kivu provinces, M23 fighters have raided homes, made death threats, and threatened reprisals, undermining independent media and the work of civil society groups. M23 fighters have also detained civil society leaders and committed summary executions, including killing a singer and activist at his home and five men doing forced labor.
“The Rwanda-backed M23 is harassing and attacking activists, journalists, and peaceful critics in areas the armed group controls in eastern Congo,” said Clémentine de Montjoye, senior Great Lakes researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Restoring a measure of normalcy to the captured cities of Goma and Bukavu will mean allowing journalists and civil society activists to do their jobs without threats, violence, or worse.”
Since late January, Human Rights Watch has interviewed over two dozen Congolese activists as well as domestic and foreign journalists in the cities of Goma, Kinshasa, and Bujumbura, and reviewed audio recordings of phone calls, screenshots of messages, and video and audio recordings of speeches given by AFC and M23 officials. Human Rights Watch received credible information that over 200 activists have sought protection support since the M23 began its offensive on Goma in January and later captured South Kivu’s provincial capital, Bukavu, in February.
The M23 and AFC authorities as well as the Rwandan government are obligated to abide by international humanitarian law in areas they occupy. They should permit civil society activists and journalists to work and move freely except for imperative reasons of security, and hold to account their personnel responsible for abuses.
On March 5, Human Rights Watch emailed its preliminary findings to Rwandan authorities and asked for comment, but has received no replies at time of publication.
After the M23 and Rwandan forces captured Goma on January 27, the AFC replaced the police and other national government institutions across the city. Since then, M23 fighters have beaten and summarily executed alleged supporters of the Congolese armed forces and its allies, as well as alleged criminals, and looted homes.
A Goma resident said that a group of M23 fighters came to his home on January 29 and accused him of helping their enemies kill their “friends” on the front line. “They beat me with sticks on my back all day,” he said. “I can’t walk anymore. They beat me, attacked me, and looted my house.”
On February 13, M23 fighters fatally shot the singer and activist Delphin Katembo Vinywasiki, known as Delcat Idengo, at his home in an apparently noncombat situation. On February 20, the AFC spokesperson, Lawrence Kanyuka, accused Idengo of being a member of the youth movement Lutte pour le Changement (Struggle for Change, or LUCHA) and told Human Rights Watch that the fighters killed him for wearing “military insignia.” In a separate incident, an independent source said M23 fighters summarily executed a LUCHA activist along with four other men after they carried out forced labor for the armed group.
The M23 has long used threats and intimidation to restrict the population’s access to information and to control criticism. Journalists have already faced difficulties reporting on the situation in Goma.
The Rwandan government has arrested Congolese civilians without evident legal basis. In February, after Rwandan authorities arrested a Congolese activist who had crossed into Rwanda, they handed him over to the M23 military intelligence in Goma, which detained him for seven days. Kanyuka confirmed that the activist was arrested in Rwanda at the M23’s request and held in military intelligence facilities for “being against our regime” and had “produced a lot of criticism against us.” AFC and M23 officials have detained and threatened several Congolese activists.
The Congolese armed forces and its allied armed groups have also been responsible for serious abuses. Amid the fighting in eastern Congo during 2024, several armed groups aligned with the Congolese army increased attacks on human rights defenders. Journalists reported that both the M23 and Congolese national authorities pressured them to publish only positive stories on their military engagements.
The Congolese government also has threatened action against journalists who cover the country’s conflict. On January 7, the president of the Communication and Broadcasting Board (Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel et de la communication, CSAC) announced that Radio France Internationale, France 24, and TV5Monde’s Africa program faced suspension for reporting on “alleged advances of terrorists.” Justice Minister Constant Mutamba warned that anyone, including journalists, who shares information about the M23 and Rwandan forces would face severe legal consequences, including possibly the death penalty.
The parties to the armed conflict in eastern Congo, including Rwanda and the M23, and Congo and its allied armed groups, are bound by international humanitarian law, or the laws of war. Relevant law can be found in the Geneva Conventions of 1949, including Common Article 3, the Hague Regulations of 1907, and customary international law. The law of occupation concerning the protection of civilians applies to areas, including Goma and Bukavu, that Rwandan or M23 forces control. While occupation law permits occupying forces to impose security restrictions on civilians, it also requires them over time to restore and ensure public order and civil life for the occupied population.
The European Union, its member states, and other concerned governments should urgently adopt further targeted sanctions against the M23 and high-level Rwandan and Congolese officials responsible for serious abuses.
On February 20, the United States imposed financial and property sanctions on Gen. James Kabarebe, Rwanda’s minister of state and former military commander, and on Kanyuka, the AFC spokesperson. Governments should also press Rwanda to ensure that civilians, including journalists and activists, have freedom of movement in M23-controlled territory, in accordance with international humanitarian law.
The EU should also suspend its deal on minerals with Rwanda in light of its forces’ involvement in abuses with the M23, and review military and security cooperation with Rwanda, including under the European Peace Facility.
“During this difficult time in M23-controlled cities, the local population needs access to essential information and reliable news,” de Montjoye said. “Governments should press Rwanda to ensure that the M23 will allow journalists and activists to function without unnecessary restrictions that are putting civilians at greater risk.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).
