1/ Violence erupted in downtown #Kinshasa#DRC today, as opposition politicians and their supporters were on their way to a sit-in to protest a potential constitutional amendment that could allow President #Tshisekedi to extend his stay in power. Reaction from @hrw 👇
Le recrutement forcé & détention abusive de milliers de combattants capturés et de civils par le M23 & les forces rwandaises dans l’est de la #RDC constituent des crimes de guerre et nécessitent une enquête pour possibles crimes contre l’humanité. @hrw_fr
https://t.co/hxz2Ej5Qsl
Concerned governments need to show that the atrocities being committed require urgent action to stop them and show no one is beyond the reach of justice.
https://t.co/B1RO6yuVJn
The forced recruitment of civilians, including children, is part of a decades-long cycle of abuse in eastern Congo. Rwandan government and M23 officials have long denied allegations of abuse. Neither Congo nor Rwanda has taken serious action regarding these grave crimes.
All former detainees said they suffered severe dehydration and hunger, contributing to widespread illness and exhaustion. Two dozen said they saw people beaten or executed for trying to drink water without permission. All detainees were expected to carry out daily hard labor.
In Tshanzu, civilians incl. children were subjected to systematic beatings where violence was used to punish minor mistakes, enforce discipline and deter escape. Former detainees described an “introduction” on arrival: “It’s a test to see if you can endure suffering,” said one.
In detention cells in Rumangabo for people suspected of lying about being combatants, former detainees and witnesses described overcrowding, horrendous and even life-threatening conditions. A dozen said they had seen between 5 and 20 bodies taken out of the cells on a single day.
They said many died in the camp and gave detailed descriptions of locations of graves or identified them on satellite images and photos. “We buried people everywhere. People died in the hospital, the kitchen, the detention cell. We dug mass graves,” said a former detainee.
Former detainees from Rumangabo said M23 fighters beat them for moving too slowly, falling out of line, asking questions, asking for or attempting to drink water, attempting to find food or get a second helping of food, being unwell, or speaking Lingala.
We interviewed over 100 former detainees who were taken to Rumangabo and Tshanzu training camps from mid-2024 to late 2025. While early operations primarily targeted Congolese army soldiers and police, subsequent roundups in 2025 seemed increasingly aimed at civilians.
In Bukavu, we documented three large-scale roundup operations in 2025, geolocating and verifying videos showing men being rounded up and taken away in trucks.
.@hrw geolocated photos and videos recorded on January 30, 2025, showing trucks filled with hundreds of men leaving Goma. Using photogrammetry and 3D modelling to reconstruct the size and capacity of the trucks, we estimated that about 1,700 people were on the 11 visible trucks.
In Goma, Bukavu, and Nyiragongo, Rutshuru, and Masisi territories, M23 fighters conducted large scale ops, abducting people from the street, their homes, at meetings, churches, or schools, and holding them in makeshift detention facilities, military camps or undisclosed locations
Encore deux journalistes arrêtés au #Rwanda, pour avoir fait un reportage sur le secret le moins bien gardé de Kigali. Les personnes injustement détenues devraient être libérées, et le cadre juridique abusif devrait être réformé. Dépêche pour @hrw_fr
https://t.co/hOUG59nk6Q
La répression accrue et l’impunité, préoccupations majeures en matière de droits humains en #RDCongo.
Lors de sa visite, le directeur exécutif de Human Rights Watch @Bolopion a exhorté les hauts responsables à changer de cap.
https://t.co/2CBEwFoOKk
Nous avons documenté 62 cas d’exécutions et de meurtres illégaux.
Le 10 déc, le M23 a sorti trois frères de chez eux, les ont fait asseoir puis abattus un à un; l’un a survécu. À une femme en pleurs sur son mari, un combattant a dit: "Calme-toi, nous apportons la paix au Congo."
À Uvira, en #RDC, le #M23 et les forces rwandaises ont mené des opérations porte à porte visant hommes et garçons, exécutant des dizaines de personnes. Nous avons visité les lieux des tueries et recueilli les témoignages de proches et témoins. @hrw_fr
@hrw We documented 62 cases of executions & unlawful killings.
On Dec. 10, M23 fighters took three brothers from their home, sat them down & shot them one by one; one survived. As a wife cried over her husband’s body, a fighter said: “Calm yourself, we are bringing peace to Congo.”
Authorities in the #DRC are increasingly harassing and arbitrarily detaining journalists, activists, and political opposition members amid political tensions surrounding a potential constitutional amendment to extend term limits. @hrw
https://t.co/oGwdjVeci0
Après avoir pris le contrôle d’Uvira à l’est de la #RDC, le M23 et les forces rwandaises sont allés de porte en porte pour tuer sommairement des hommes et des garçons et commis viols et enlèvements. Des enquêtes pénales sont nécessaires.
Rapport @hrw_fr
https://t.co/YmH6goqV4Q