An armed group that receives support from the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) has killed and tortured civilians, looted property and abducted women, forcing them into sexual slavery in the Rutshuru territory of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. These findings come from an investigation conducted between March and April 2026, based on remote interviews with 16 victims, survivors of rape and sexual assault, and family members of civilians killed, raped, tortured, abducted or mistreated by fighters of the CMC-FDP between June and December 2025.
The Collectif des mouvements pour le changement-Forces de défense du peuple (CMC-FDP) is part of the Wazalendo (meaning “patriots” in Swahili), a loosely structured coalition of armed groups that the Congolese army uses as auxiliary forces in its ongoing fight against the Rwanda-backed March 23 Movement (M23). The CMC-FDP operates mainly in the Bukombo groupement of Rutshuru, an area currently under M23 control.
Civilians living in and around Bukombo are caught between the brutality of the M23 and that of the CMC-FDP. What they are forced to endure daily is terrible, especially in isolated areas where the CMC-FDP operates with total impunity.
The group maintains isolated bases in Bukombo and targets civilians, often at night or in areas where M23 fighters are less numerous. After clashes with the M23, CMC-FDP fighters have taken revenge on individuals perceived to have family ties with M23 members. These human rights abuses against civilians violate international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes.
Tigere Chagutah, a regional director for East and Southern Africa, said: “Civilians in and around Bukombo are trapped between M23 brutality and that of the CMC-FDP. Their daily suffering is severe, particularly in remote zones where the CMC-FDP acts with impunity. The DR Congo authorities often condemn M23 violence, as they should, but ignore similar violence and abuses committed by the Wazalendo, including the CMC-FDP. In reality, they condone these crimes and shirk their obligation to protect civilians and bring Wazalendo fighters to justice. The international community must pressure the DR Congo government to immediately halt support for these armed groups.”
Between June and December 2025, victims reported that CMC-FDP fighters committed summary executions, burned homes, and abducted women. One woman in her early twenties told investigators that 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: either I go with them or they kill me,” she said. She was taken to a camp where a commander became her “husband” and raped her repeatedly. She saw two other women detained in the camp, but fighters threatened to shoot her if she spoke to them. She escaped when the M23 attacked the camp.
Another woman, aged 22, was abducted in June 2025 after her husband joined the M23. She was taken to the Mudugudu base in Bukombo and forced to become the “wife” of a commander. She reported that there were four other women in the camp, also forced to be fighters’ “wives”. She also saw civilians detained and mistreated, with some placed in underground detention cells. These acts amount to the war crime of hostage-taking. She fled in October 2025 after an M23 attack on the camp.
Both sexual violence victims were held in conditions akin to sexual slavery. They contracted sexually transmitted infections from the rapes, causing pain and suffering. While they received treatment at health centers, many other victims of sexual violence by Wazalendo groups lack adequate medical or psychological care. Sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence in armed conflict are grave breaches of international humanitarian law and amount to war crimes, also violating human rights to equality, physical integrity, and freedom from torture.
The CMC-FDP denied allegations that its fighters committed rape, sexual slavery, or forced marriage. In a written response, spokesperson Héritier Donald Gashegu stated that the group “categorically rejects” these claims and asserted that no complaints or official reports were filed with its internal disciplinary or judicial bodies. However, the leadership of the CMC-FDP should have been aware of the violence perpetrated by its commanders and could be considered complicit if they knew of the abuses and failed to act.
Rape and sexual violence against women
A woman in her early twenties recounted that after her husband joined the M23 in May 2025, CMC-FDP fighters abducted her and held her for three months. She was presented with a commander who became her “husband” and raped her repeatedly. She saw two other women detained but was threatened not to speak to them. She fled when the M23 attacked the camp.
Another woman, 22, said CMC-FDP fighters abducted her in June 2025 after her husband joined the M23. She was taken to the Mudugudu base where she was forced to become the “wife” of a commander. She reported four other women in the camp forced into similar situations. She also saw civilians detained and mistreated, including in underground cells. She escaped in October 2025 after an M23 attack.
Both women contracted sexually transmitted infections from the rapes. They received treatment, but many others lack adequate care. Sexual slavery and sexual violence in armed conflict are war crimes and human rights violations.
Ill-treatment and other violence against women
On 20 November 2025, eight people including a pregnant woman and her husband sought refuge in a banana plantation in Mashango, a village in Bukombo, during an exchange of fire between the M23 and local armed groups, likely including the CMC-FDP. Armed fighters found them and demanded cooking oil. When they said they had none, the fighters looted their belongings and burned their houses. One fighter took pity on the pregnant woman and said she should be spared. The fighters then took her husband and killed him with machetes. She later found his body already decomposing. She gave birth to a baby boy alone in the forest at 5:30 PM that day.
Another woman told investigators that her husband joined the M23 in June 2025. The following month, four CMC-FDP fighters came to her home, two with pistols and two with whips. She asked for mercy because she was pregnant, but they said, “Your pregnancy is not our problem; we want to see your husband.” They beat her and cut her with a knife. She miscarried the next day. The CMC-FDP denied allegations of looting and burning houses.
Revenge killings and summary executions
Nine victims and survivors told investigators that CMC-FDP fighters killed their husbands or abducted them because their sons or husbands had joined the M23. A 35-year-old woman said a commander and six fighters came to her home in Kyahemba, Bukombo, in November 2025. The commander asked if she had let her child be recruited by the M23. Her 15-year-old son had left without warning to join the M23 earlier in the month. When she said she didn’t know how he was recruited, the commander began firing at her husband, hitting him three times in the chest in front of their eight- and six-year-old children. She later learned that her son died while with the M23.
Another woman, Elisabeth*, said six CMC-FDP fighters, including four former neighbors, came to her home in November 2025 looking for her husband. They accused him of collaborating with the M23, shot him three times in the chest and genitals, then looted the house, taking four goats, clothes, and pots. The CMC-FDP did not specify measures taken to investigate these allegations, saying they lacked sufficient information.
Extortion and threats
Before the M23 arrived in the region, the CMC-FDP collected money from residents under a tax called “lala salama” (sleep peacefully in Swahili), purportedly to fund protection of civilians. One victim said her husband joined the M23 because he was tired of these extortions.
Innocent*, who worked in Kyahemba, said CMC-FDP fighters approached him three times after his son joined the M23 in August 2025, demanding money. He gave them US$300. Each time they beat him and burned three houses, including his own. They threatened to kill him if he didn’t pay.
Justine*, a 20-year-old woman, said her husband fled in July or August 2025 without warning. In September, CMC-FDP fighters broke into her home, whipped her, tied her hands, and demanded to know her husband’s whereabouts. She said she resembled a Tutsi, and they threatened to take her to a commander who would force her to reveal his location. One fighter helped her escape, taking pity on her baby. Justine believes her husband joined the M23 out of fear, as the M23 had threatened that all Tutsis who didn’t join them would be beheaded.
The CMC-FDP wrote that it has no policy of demanding ransoms or payments from relatives of those who joined the M23 or any other enemy movement. It said that if isolated cases occurred, it would be interested in identifying the perpetrators for discipline and justice. However, the leadership should have been aware of extortion practices and had a responsibility to investigate and hold fighters accountable. If they knew and failed to act, they could be considered complicit.
Congolese army support for the CMC-FDP
In May 2023, the DR Congo passed a law creating the Armed Reserve of Defence, which allowed for the integration of certain local armed groups, including the CMC-FDP, into the Congolese army as auxiliary forces to fight the M23. The FARDC provides financial support, weapons, and ammunition to these groups. In December 2025, the DR Congo Finance Minister told the National Assembly’s Defence and Security Committee that the state was paying US$4 million per month to Wazalendo groups.
According to an internal document from the North Kivu military government obtained by a Congolese research group, the CMC-FDP received over 100,000 rounds of ammunition and over 100 40mm rockets from the FARDC in late 2023 and early 2024.
It is unacceptable that the Congolese army continues to support CMC-FDP fighters despite the terrible human rights abuses they inflict on civilians.
In July 2024, the European Union sanctioned the CMC-FDP’s commander-in-chief, Dominique “Domi” Kamanzi Ndaruhutse, for committing serious human rights violations. He has fought with various Nyatura groups for over 10 years and, according to the UN Group of Experts on the DR Congo, collaborated with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), particularly in the Bwito groupement of Rutshuru. The FDLR is an armed opposition group operating in eastern DR Congo, composed of Rwandan and Congolese fighters, including former Interahamwe and Rwandan soldiers responsible for the 1994 genocide, as well as combatants who did not participate in the genocide.
Tigere Chagutah said: “It is unacceptable that the Congolese army continues to support CMC-FDP fighters despite the terrible human rights abuses they inflict on civilians. The group has engaged in rampant violence for years. The Congolese authorities must immediately end collaboration and support for the CMC-FDP and other Wazalendo groups committing atrocities, and hold them accountable.”
* Pseudonyms are used to protect the identities of interviewees for security and confidentiality reasons.
