A new United Nations report paints a devastating picture of the conflict in eastern Congo, where Rwandan-backed M23 rebels reportedly stand accused of committing atrocities that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
According to the U.N., the group’s campaign of violence has included the rape of women and the execution of children and other civilians, underscoring the grim reality that decades of peace talks have failed to bring stability to the region.
The M23, dominated by Congolese ethnic Tutsis and bolstered by thousands of Rwandan troops, swept across eastern Congo earlier this year, seizing two major cities and inflicting heavy losses on the Congolese army and allied militias.
In June, the governments of Congo and Rwanda signed a U.S.-brokered peace deal in Washington, followed by a preliminary truce between Kinshasa and the rebels in Qatar.
But on the ground, the U.N. warns, both sides have continued to reinforce their positions rather than move toward genuine reconciliation.
The report describes chilling atrocities. In July, M23 fighters attacked villages 40 miles north of Goma, allegedly killing hundreds of Hutu men and women, along with dozens of children, with machetes and axes. “The atrocities described in this report are horrific,” said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. “It is heart-breaking and deeply frustrating to witness, once again, the dehumanization of the civilian population by those in power who are failing in their responsibilities.”
An M23 spokesman declined to comment, though the group has previously claimed it intervenes to protect Tutsis from Hutu extremists.
The government in Kinshasa, meanwhile, faces its own accusations of abuses. The U.N. noted rights violations by Congolese troops, while a government spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
The ethnic conflict traces its roots to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, when Hutu extremists massacred hundreds of thousands of Tutsis.
But financial motives are equally powerful drivers. Eastern Congo’s mineral wealth—gold, diamonds and coltan, vital for smartphones and laptops—has turned villages into battlefields.
By capturing Rubaya, a major coltan-mining town, M23 secured about $800,000 per month in revenue by taxing traders, according to the U.N. Thousands of tons of illegally mined Congolese gold have also been funneled through Rwanda.
The toll on civilians has been staggering. More than two million people have been displaced over the past three years. CARE International reported at least 67,000 women and girls were sexually assaulted in just the first four months of this year.
The U.N. estimates Rwanda has sent 4,000 troops to assist M23, at times outnumbering the rebels themselves and deploying advanced weaponry against Congolese forces.
Three U.N. peacekeepers were killed in July, a reminder that international missions remain targets.
Rwandan officials deny supporting M23, though the U.N. report concludes the group operates “with training, material, intelligence, and operational support from the Rwanda Defense Forces.” Congo accuses Kigali of seeking access to stolen minerals, while Rwanda claims it is only taking “defensive measures.”
For now, the U.S.-brokered peace deal requires Rwanda to pull back from M23 and Congo to sever ties with Hutu militias. But the rebels appear unwilling to yield their territorial gains.
Past precedent is sobering: Congo’s previous war in the late 1990s dragged in multiple neighboring states and claimed more than five million lives, largely from hunger and disease.
The U.N.’s findings serve as a stark warning that without sustained international pressure, Congo’s fragile truce could collapse, reigniting a conflict with catastrophic consequences for civilians caught in the middle.
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