Civilian lives in Rutshuru, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), are caught in a brutal crossfire between the M23 rebel group and local militias backed by the Congolese army. Survivors and witnesses describe a pattern of war crimes—including torture, sexual slavery, and executions—committed by the Collectif des Mouvements pour le Changement-Forces de Défense du Peuple (CMC-FDP), a faction within the loosely organized Wazalendo coalition.
The CMC-FDP, operating primarily in Bukombo, has intensified attacks on communities perceived as sympathetic to the M23. Survivors report systematic abductions, forced marriages, and extortion under the guise of local taxes. Many victims describe being held captive in remote camps where commanders subjected them to repeated sexual violence.
Civilian populations in Bukombo face unimaginable suffering, trapped between the brutality of the M23 and the unchecked violence of the CMC-FDP. The impunity with which these crimes are committed is alarming.
Tigere Chagutah, Regional Director for East and Southern Africa
Between June and December 2025, the CMC-FDP allegedly abducted women and girls, forcing some into sexual slavery under threat of death. Survivors describe being held in makeshift detention centers where they were given minimal food and subjected to daily sexual assaults by commanders. Medical records confirm that many victims contracted sexually transmitted infections as a result.
Sexual violence and forced marriages as weapons of war
A young woman in her early twenties recounted being abducted after her husband joined the M23. Held for three months, she was repeatedly raped by a commander who claimed her as his “wife.” She fled only when the camp was attacked by the M23. Another victim, aged 22, described being abducted in June 2025 and forced into a similar fate at the CMC-FDP base in Mudugudu. Both women reported seeing other captives—some subjected to the same abuses, others detained for ransom.
The CMC-FDP has denied all allegations, stating it adheres to human rights standards and disciplines its fighters. However, survivors allege that commanders were complicit in these crimes, either through direct participation or by failing to intervene. Legal experts warn that such inaction could constitute criminal liability under international humanitarian law.
Extrajudicial killings and collective punishment
In November 2025, a pregnant woman and her husband sought refuge in a banana grove during clashes between the M23 and allied militias. CMC-FDP fighters located them, stole their belongings, and burned their home. The woman’s husband was executed with machetes, and she was forced to give birth alone in the forest shortly after. Another survivor reported being beaten while pregnant, leading to a miscarriage after CMC-FDP fighters accused her of harboring a M23 supporter.
A 35-year-old woman described how CMC-FDP fighters shot her husband dead in front of their children after questioning her about her 15-year-old son’s alleged recruitment by the M23. The attackers looted livestock, clothing, and cooking utensils before leaving. Survivors allege that a local commander was directly involved in orchestrating these attacks.
Extortion and community coercion
Before the M23 advance, the CMC-FDP imposed a so-called la salama tax on local residents, purportedly to fund civilian protection. However, survivors describe this as a form of extortion targeting families of suspected M23 sympathizers. One man reported being beaten and threatened with death unless he paid $300—repeatedly—even after his son had allegedly joined the rebel group. His home and two others were burned when he could not meet further demands.
A 20-year-old woman recounted being whipped and threatened by CMC-FDP fighters who accused her of concealing her husband’s whereabouts. She narrowly escaped execution after a sympathetic fighter intervened. She believes her husband fled to the M23 after receiving death threats from the group, which had labeled him a Rwandan Tutsi and warned of decapitations for non-compliance.
State-backed militias and the cycle of impunity
Since 2023, the DRC government has integrated local militias like the CMC-FDP into its reserve army, deploying them as auxiliary forces against the M23. Official documents reveal that these groups receive monthly funding—reportedly $4 million—and substantial military supplies, including over 100,000 rounds of ammunition and 100 rockets in late 2023 and early 2024.
It is unconscionable that the Congolese army continues to arm and fund a militia responsible for such egregious war crimes. The international community must demand an immediate end to this support and hold all perpetrators accountable.
Tigere Chagutah, Regional Director for East and Southern Africa
In 2024, the European Union sanctioned the CMC-FDP leader, Dominique Kamanzi Ndaruhutse, for his role in human rights abuses and alleged collaboration with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a group with deep ties to perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Despite these sanctions and mounting evidence of atrocities, the DRC government maintains its alliance with the CMC-FDP.
