In a scathing report published this Wednesday, May 13, 2026, the international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) officially accuses the M23 rebel group and the Rwandan Defence Forces (RDF) of serious violations of international humanitarian law in the city of Uvira, South Kivu.
These acts, characterized as war crimes, were allegedly perpetrated between December 2025 and January 2026.
A Month of Occupation and Atrocities
According to the NGO’s investigations, the capture of Uvira took place on December 10, 2025, shortly after the signing of a peace agreement brokered by the United States. The occupation, which lasted until January 17, 2026, was marked by a climate of terror.
The investigation, based on more than 120 testimonies from survivors, eyewitnesses, and relatives of victims, provides a chilling list of documented abuses:
Summary executions and cold-blooded killings;
Systematic rape and sexual violence;
Abductions and enforced disappearances;
Forced recruitment of civilians into insurgent ranks.
Civilians Hunted While Fleeing
The report highlights particular cruelty during population movements. Fighters reportedly conducted systematic house-to-house searches to identify and execute residents. More gravely, HRW reports that fire was deliberately aimed at groups of civilians attempting to seek refuge in neighboring Burundi or to reach the hills overlooking the city to escape the fighting.
The Urgency of a Judicial Response
For Human Rights Watch, the withdrawal of Rwandan troops and the M23—facilitated by diplomatic pressure—must not overshadow the need for justice. The organization urges Congolese and Rwandan authorities, with the support of the international community, to open credible investigations.
> “Without rigorous accountability for these crimes, civilians in eastern DRC will remain exposed to further cycles of violence,” the organization warns in its conclusions.
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The current lack of judicial prosecution leads the NGO to fear that such atrocities could recur in other localities in the region, where insecurity remains persistent.
With Radio Okapi
