Military operations by the Alliance Fleuve Congo and the Mouvement du 23 mars (AFC/M23) against the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) are systematically targeting civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a new United Nations report. The findings detail a pattern of abuses in contested areas of North and South Kivu, undermining the rebel coalition’s claim that its military presence is solely aimed at combating Rwandan Hutu fighters who have been on Congolese soil since the 1994 genocide.
Documented civilian targeting in the Kivus
UN investigators describe a recurring method of operation. Rather than limiting themselves to direct clashes with the FDLR, AFC/M23 offensives have been accompanied by reprisals against villages suspected of sheltering or supporting the Rwandan armed group. Summary executions, forced displacement and the destruction of homes are among the violations recorded. These actions form part of a territorial occupation strategy that has profoundly altered the security map of eastern Congo since hostilities resumed in 2022.
The report highlights the difficulty on the ground of distinguishing combatant targets from Congolese Hutu populations who are sometimes wrongly assimilated with the FDLR. This confusion fuels a cycle of communal violence that humanitarian actors struggle to contain. UN agencies in Goma and Bukavu report a continuous influx of displaced people, in a context where humanitarian access remains hindered by fighting and restrictions imposed by the parties involved.
Kinshasa’s disarmament process under scrutiny
Faced with this situation, Congolese authorities defend a political process for the voluntary disarmament of the FDLR, presented as the fundamental response to the presence of the Rwandan armed group on its territory. Kinshasa argues that some fighters have already been cantoned and that repatriation mechanisms are being studied in coordination with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and several regional partners.
This approach is directly contested by Kigali, which views the FDLR as an existential threat and accuses the Congolese government of de facto collusion with the group. Rwanda uses this reading to justify its support, documented in several earlier UN expert reports, for AFC/M23 operations. The latest report does not fundamentally alter this equation, but it shifts the debate toward the human cost borne by Congolese civilians.
A regional impact beyond the Kivus
The UN’s conclusions come at a pivotal moment for regional diplomacy. The Luanda process, led by Angola, and the Nairobi process, sponsored by the East African Community, seek to link ceasefire arrangements, the withdrawal of foreign forces and the neutralization of armed groups. The accusations against AFC/M23 complicate any prospect of political integration of the movement, a scenario nonetheless mentioned in some mediation tracks.
For the DRC’s economic partners, particularly in strategic mining sectors such as coltan, cobalt and tin, persistent insecurity in the Kivus poses a major challenge. Traceability mechanisms promoted by the European Union and major technology industries run up against the reality of a war economy in which supply chains remain captured by armed groups. The UN’s detailed documentation of abuses could increase pressure on international buyers and on neighboring states involved in cross-border flows.
The question of judicial follow-up remains. Previous expert panel reports have rarely led to prosecutions, despite regular referrals to the International Criminal Court on the Congolese situation. Human rights organizations are calling for the gathered evidence to feed concrete proceedings, both in Kinshasa and The Hague. The UN document is expected to be examined in the coming weeks by the relevant Security Council bodies.
Further reading
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