GENEVA: Rwanda-backed M23 militia and the Congolese military and its affiliates have all committed gross rights violations in eastern DR Congo, UN investigators said Friday, warning of possible war crimes and crimes against humanity.
A United Nations fact-finding mission on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s North and South Kivu provinces determined in a report that all sides in the devastating conflict had committed abuses since late 2024, including summary executions and rampant sexual violence.
The findings “underscore the gravity and widespread nature of violations and abuses committed by all parties to the conflict, including acts that may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity,” the report said.
The eastern DRC, a region bordering Rwanda with abundant natural resources but plagued by non-state armed groups, has suffered extreme violence for more than three decades.
Since taking up arms again at the end of 2021, the M23 armed group has seized swathes of land in the restive region with Rwanda’s backing, triggering a spiralling humanitarian crisis.
