The military campaign waged by the Alliance Fleuve Congo and the March 23 Movement (AFC/M23) against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) appears to be systematically hitting civilian populations in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. That is the core finding of a new United Nations report, which documents a pattern of abuses in contested areas of North and South Kivu. The findings undercut the rebel coalition’s narrative, which frames its military presence as a necessary fight against Rwandan Hutu fighters who have been on Congolese soil since the 1994 genocide.
Evidence of deliberate targeting in the Kivus
UN investigators describe a recurring method of operation. Rather than restricting themselves to direct clashes with the FDLR, AFC/M23 offensives have reportedly 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 fit into a pattern of territorial occupation that has reshaped the security map of eastern Congo since hostilities resumed in 2022.
The report highlights how difficult it is on the ground to separate combatant targets from Congolese Hutu populations who are sometimes wrongly lumped together with the FDLR. That confusion fuels a cycle of communal violence that humanitarian actors are struggling to contain. UN agencies operating in Goma and Bukavu report a continuous influx of displaced people, in a context where humanitarian access remains hampered by fighting and restrictions imposed by the parties involved.
Kinshasa’s disarmament process under scrutiny
Faced with this situation, Congolese authorities are defending a political process for the voluntary disarmament of the FDLR, presented as the fundamental answer to the presence of the Rwandan armed group on their territory. Kinshasa argues that some fighters have already been cantonned 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 challenged by Kigali, which views the FDLR as an existential threat and accuses the Congolese government of de facto collusion with the group. Rwanda uses that reading to justify its support — documented in several earlier UN expert reports — for AFC/M23 operations. The latest report does not fundamentally alter that equation, but it shifts the debate toward the human cost borne by Congolese civilians.
A regional impact that extends beyond the Kivus
The UN 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, are trying to link ceasefires, the withdrawal of foreign forces and the neutralization of armed groups. The accusations against AFC/M23 complicate any prospect of politically integrating the movement, a scenario that has nonetheless been mentioned in some mediation tracks.
For the DRC’s economic partners, especially in strategic mineral supply chains for coltan, cobalt and tin, persistent insecurity in the Kivus poses a major challenge. Traceability mechanisms promoted by the European Union and major technology companies run up against the reality of a war economy in which supply routes 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.
Then there is the question of judicial follow-up. Previous expert panel reports have rarely led to prosecutions, despite regular referrals of the Congolese situation to the International Criminal Court. Human rights organizations are calling for the evidence gathered 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.
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