Congo’s army accused of backing armed group accused of war crimes

A coalition of armed groups, backed by the Congolese military, has been accused of widespread atrocities against civilians in Rutshuru, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to human rights investigators. The Collectif des mouvements pour le changement-Forces de défense du peuple (CMC-FDP), part of the loosely organized Wazalendo movement, operates alongside the national army in the fight against the M23 rebel group, which is allegedly supported by Rwanda.

Civilian communities in Bukombo and surrounding areas face a dire predicament, caught between the ruthless tactics of both the M23 and the CMC-FDP. In isolated regions where the latter group wields unchecked power, residents endure systematic abuses, with little hope of justice or protection.

Residents in Bukombo are trapped between the brutality of the M23 and the CMC-FDP. The suffering they endure daily is horrific, particularly in remote zones where the group operates with total impunity.

Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s East and Southern Africa Regional Director

After clashes with the M23, the CMC-FDP has retaliated against civilians perceived to have ties to the rebel movement. These actions, including killings, torture, and sexual enslavement, violate international humanitarian law and may constitute war crimes.

«While Congolese authorities rightly condemn the M23’s violence, they turn a blind eye to similarly grave abuses by Wazalendo-aligned groups like the CMC-FDP,» Chagutah stated. «By supporting these fighters, authorities not only fail in their duty to protect civilians but also enable ongoing violations. International pressure must compel the DRC government to immediately cease backing such armed factions and hold them accountable.»

Between March and April 2026, investigators interviewed 16 victims and witnesses via secure phone applications. Survivors recounted harrowing experiences, including sexual slavery, torture, kidnappings, and extrajudicial killings carried out by CMC-FDP fighters between June and December 2025. Credible reports from local human rights defenders also documented summary executions and the burning of homes in the region.

International actors must urgently pressure the DRC government to withdraw all support for armed groups like the CMC-FDP.

Tigere Chagutah

On June 8, 2026, Amnesty International formally notified the CMC-FDP of the documented abuses and requested clarification on the conduct of its fighters in civilian areas. The group’s spokesperson, Héritier Donald Gashegu, responded in writing on June 16, denying responsibility for the reported violations and asserting that the CMC-FDP «remains committed to upholding human rights and maintaining discipline among its fighters.»

Sexual violence and enslavement of women

A woman in her early 20s recounted how, after her husband joined the M23 in May 2025, CMC-FDP fighters abducted her from her home and held her captive for three months. «They gave me a choice: join them or die,» she said. Detained in a makeshift camp, she was forced into a «marriage» with a commander and subjected to repeated sexual violence. «I thought he would kill me if I refused. He came every night,» she recalled. She escaped when the M23 attacked the camp.

Another survivor, aged 22, described how fighters abducted her in June 2025 after her husband joined the M23. Taken to their base in Mudugudu, Bukombo, she was coerced into a «marriage» with a commander who threatened to kill her if she refused. «He said: ‘If you don’t sleep with me, I’ll kill you.’» She reported seeing four other women similarly forced into sexual servitude at the camp, as well as civilians held in underground detention cells. These acts may constitute the war crime of hostage-taking.

Both women were eventually freed during M23 attacks in late 2025. They later received medical treatment for sexually transmitted infections contracted through the assaults. However, many survivors of sexual violence by Wazalendo groups lack access to essential medical or psychological care.

Sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence in armed conflict are grave breaches of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes. These acts also violate fundamental human rights, including the right to equality, bodily integrity, and freedom from torture and ill-treatment.

The CMC-FDP dismissed allegations of sexual violence, stating it «categorically rejects» claims that its fighters raped, enslaved, or forced women into «marriages» with commanders. It claimed no formal complaints had been filed with its internal disciplinary or judicial bodies regarding the reported incidents.

Brutality, killings, and forced displacements

On November 20, 2025, eight civilians, including a pregnant woman and her husband, sought refuge in a banana plantation in Mashango, Bukombo, during clashes between the M23 and local armed groups, including the CMC-FDP. Armed men later discovered them and demanded cooking oil. «We told them we had none. They looted everything and burned our homes,» the pregnant woman recounted. One fighter reportedly showed mercy, saying, «She’s pregnant and about to give birth; we must spare her.»

The fighters then abducted her husband and killed him with machetes. «They chopped him up. Everyone was killed with machetes. I went searching for the bodies… when we found them, they were already decomposing,» she said. Alone in the forest at 5:30 PM, she gave birth to a son.

Another survivor described how four CMC-FDP fighters arrived at her home in July 2025 after her husband joined the M23. «They asked where my husband was. They beat me with a whip and a knife, even though I was pregnant,» she said. «The next day, I miscarried.» The group later burned down her home.

The CMC-FDP denied allegations of looting and arson.

Revenge killings and targeted assassinations

Nine victims and survivors reported that CMC-FDP fighters killed their husbands or abducted them because their sons or spouses had joined the M23. In November 2025, a commander and six fighters stormed the home of a 35-year-old woman in Kyahemba, Bukombo. «Have you let the M23 recruit your child?» the commander asked. Her 15-year-old son had secretly joined the rebel group weeks earlier.

They shot my husband three times in the chest and groin. After killing him, they looted the house, taking four goats, clothes, and pots.

Elisabeth*

According to four victims and a human rights defender, a CMC-FDP commander based in Kyahemba was involved in the detention or killing of their relatives. Elisabeth* recounted how six fighters, four of whom were former neighbors, raided her home in November 2025, searching for her husband. «They accused us of collaborating with the M23 and shot my husband three times in the chest and groin before looting our property,» she said.

The CMC-FDP did not specify any measures taken to investigate allegations of civilian killings, claiming insufficient information to conduct inquiries.

Extortion and violent threats

Before the M23’s arrival, the CMC-FDP extorted money from locals under the guise of a «safety tax» called la salama («sleep peacefully»). Victims described how fighters demanded payments after their relatives joined the M23. Innocent*, a resident of Kyahemba, recounted being approached three times after his son joined the group in August 2025. «Each time, they demanded money and threatened to burn my house if I refused,» he said. «They burned three homes—mine and two others—and said they would kill me.»

Each time they came, they beat me. They burned three houses—mine and two others—and said they would kill me if I didn’t pay.

Innocent*

Justine*, 20, described how fighters broke into her home in September after her husband fled, fearing threats from the M23. «They whipped me twice—once on my back, once on my chest—and tied my hands,» she said. «They demanded to know where my husband was and threatened to take me to their commander, implying he would force me to talk.» A sympathetic fighter later helped her escape, warning her of the danger.

Justine believed her husband had joined the M23 out of fear for his life, after receiving threats from the group in July or August: «You’re a Tutsi from Rwanda. All Tutsis who don’t join the M23 will be beheaded.»

The CMC-FDP denied having any policy or practice of extorting payments from families of M23 members, claiming isolated cases would prompt internal investigations. However, leaders bear responsibility for addressing such abuses and holding offenders accountable.

Congolese army’s ties to the CMC-FDP

In May 2023, the DRC passed a law establishing the Armed Reserve for Defense, integrating local armed groups like the CMC-FDP into the national army as auxiliary forces to combat the M23. The military provides financial aid, weapons, and ammunition to these groups. In December 2025, the DRC’s Finance Minister told the National Assembly’s Defense and Security Commission that the state allocated $4 million monthly to Wazalendo-aligned factions.

Internal documents from the North Kivu military government, obtained by a Congolese research group, revealed that the CMC-FDP received over 100,000 rounds of ammunition and more than 100 40mm rockets from the FARDC in late 2023 and early 2024.

It is unacceptable for the Congolese army to continue supporting CMC-FDP fighters despite their horrific abuses against civilians.

Tigere Chagutah

In July 2024, the European Union sanctioned CMC-FDP leader Dominique «Domi» Kamanzi Ndaruhutse for «acts constituting serious human rights violations.» Ndaruhutse has a decade-long history of involvement with nyatura groups («strike hard») and has, according to UN experts, collaborated with the Rwandan-backed Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). The FDLR includes former Interahamwe militiamen and Rwandan soldiers responsible for the 1994 genocide, alongside other combatants.

«It is unconscionable for Congolese authorities to maintain ties with the CMC-FDP while this group perpetrates atrocities,» Chagutah emphasized. «The government must immediately end all collaboration with abusive Wazalendo factions, withdraw support, and ensure accountability for their crimes.»

*Pseudonyms are used to protect the identities of survivors and witnesses.