The Congolese government says more than 300 people were killed in June and July 2026 in areas under AFC/M23 control, accusing the rebel coalition and Rwandan forces of killings, torture, sexual violence, abductions and forced recruitment as Kinshasa renews its call for accountability.
The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo says more than 300 people were killed during June and July 2026 in territories controlled by the Rwanda-backed AFC/M23 rebellion, as Kinshasa raised new allegations of serious abuses against civilians in the country's conflict-hit east.
In the Press Release statement issued Monday by the Ministry of Communication and Media, the government accused the Alliance Fleuve Congo/M23 (AFC/M23) and Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) personnel of involvement in summary executions, massacres, bombardments, sexual violence, torture, kidnappings and forced recruitment.
Radio Okapi reported that the government's consolidated figures put the number of people killed during the two-month period at more than 300.
The statement also alleges hundreds of cases of rape and sexual assault, more than 300 cases of torture, and hundreds of abductions and forced recruitment incidents, including cases involving young people in Tshanzu and Rumangabo.
Kinshasa says civilians remain under pressure in occupied areas
According to Opinion Info's account of the government statement, Kinshasa says homes have been burned and looted while civilians have faced killings, sexual violence, torture, abductions and recruitment by force.
The government also accused authorities operating in AFC/M23-held territories of imposing unauthorized taxes on schools, hospitals, orphanages and other institutions.
It says fees have been demanded in some primary and nursery schools despite the DRC's free-primary-education policy, while educational institutions have allegedly faced a 17% levy on quarterly revenues.
Tshanzu and Rumangabo have appeared in earlier abuse investigations
WAR IN DR CONGO
DRC Accuses RDF and AFC/M23 of Killings, Torture and Abductions
Aug 24, 2026
Aug 24, 2026
7 min read
Published
Updated:
The Congolese government says more than 300 people were killed in June and July 2026 in areas under AFC/M23 control, accusing the rebel coalition and Rwandan forces of killings, torture, sexual violence, abductions and forced recruitment as Kinshasa renews its call for accountability.
The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo says more than 300 people were killed during June and July 2026 in territories controlled by the Rwanda-backed AFC/M23 rebellion, as Kinshasa raised new allegations of serious abuses against civilians in the country's conflict-hit east.
In the Press Release statement issued Monday by the Ministry of Communication and Media, the government accused the Alliance Fleuve Congo/M23 (AFC/M23) and Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) personnel of involvement in summary executions, massacres, bombardments, sexual violence, torture, kidnappings and forced recruitment.
Radio Okapi reported that the government's consolidated figures put the number of people killed during the two-month period at more than 300.
The statement also alleges hundreds of cases of rape and sexual assault, more than 300 cases of torture, and hundreds of abductions and forced recruitment incidents, including cases involving young people in Tshanzu and Rumangabo.
Kinshasa says civilians remain under pressure in occupied areas
According to Opinion Info's account of the government statement, Kinshasa says homes have been burned and looted while civilians have faced killings, sexual violence, torture, abductions and recruitment by force.
The government also accused authorities operating in AFC/M23-held territories of imposing unauthorized taxes on schools, hospitals, orphanages and other institutions.
It says fees have been demanded in some primary and nursery schools despite the DRC's free-primary-education policy, while educational institutions have allegedly faced a 17% levy on quarterly revenues.
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Tshanzu and Rumangabo have appeared in earlier abuse investigations
Two locations highlighted by Kinshasa — Tshanzu and Rumangabo — have previously appeared in independent investigations into forced recruitment and abusive detention.
In June, Human Rights Watch published a major investigation titled "Death Was Everywhere", documenting what it described as large-scale forced recruitment and abusive detention by M23 fighters and Rwandan military personnel in eastern Congo.
Human Rights Watch said it interviewed 102 former detainees and documented allegations of killings, torture, severe beatings, forced labour and the recruitment of children at sites including Rumangabo and Tshanzu.
XTRAfrica previously covered those findings in HRW Accuses Rwanda and M23 of Forced Recruitment in DRC, detailing allegations that civilians and children had been rounded up and sent to training camps.
UN reporting has also raised concerns over AFC/M23 and Rwanda's role
The latest allegations come against a broader record of international scrutiny of the conflict.
The United Nations Security Council's sanctions committee lists the June 5, 2026 final report of the Group of Experts on the DRC, S/2026/466, among its official expert reports on the country.
XTRAfrica examined that report in Rwanda–M23 Files: Inside UN Report S/2026/466 on Eastern DRC, highlighting findings concerning RDF military activity, AFC/M23 command structures, civilian abuses, mineral exploitation and parallel administration in territory outside Kinshasa's control.
Earlier XTRAfrica reporting also examined UN findings in UN: M23 and Rwanda Committed War Crimes in Congo, Says Report and UN Report: M23/AFC & Rwanda Linked to War Crimes in Kivu.
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Those reports described documented allegations involving killings, forced displacement, detention, sexual violence and other serious violations in eastern DRC.
The UN Security Council has also taken a formal position on Rwanda's military involvement. In Resolution 2773, adopted unanimously in February 2025, the Council condemned M23 offensives, demanded that the movement withdraw from areas it controlled and called on the Rwanda Defence Force to end support for M23 and withdraw from Congolese territory.
The United Nations summary of Resolution 2773 also reaffirmed the DRC's sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity.
Rwanda has repeatedly rejected accusations that it is responsible for the conflict in eastern Congo and has argued that its security concerns are linked to armed groups operating from Congolese territory, particularly the FDLR. Kigali and M23 officials have also denied a number of abuse allegations made against them.
Government raises separate population-transfer allegation
Kinshasa's August 24 statement goes beyond the reported killings.
The government also alleges that on August 10, more than 100 families of Rwandan origin crossed into Nyiragongo territory through the Kabuhanga route and were later settled in Rwibiranga, in the Buhumba grouping.
According to Radio Okapi and Opinion Info, Kinshasa described the movement as part of what it considers an organized attempt to alter the demographic composition of Congolese territory.
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TRENDING NOW
Accountability pressure grows as peace talks continue
The timing of the statement is significant because it comes while Kinshasa and AFC/M23 remain engaged in an internationally backed peace process.
The two sides have been working to operationalize ceasefire-verification arrangements under the Doha framework, including a first field verification mission planned for Minembwe.
That creates a difficult parallel track: negotiations are continuing while the Congolese government says serious violations are still being recorded in areas under rebel control.
Kinshasa says the alleged abuses violate international humanitarian law, the UN Charter, Resolution 2773 and commitments made through the Washington and Doha peace processes.
The government has promised that those responsible — including alleged perpetrators, accomplices and commanders — will eventually face justice.
International pressure has already increased. XTRAfrica previously reported on UN sanctions targeting Corneille Nangaa, AFC and other armed-group figures as part of efforts to hold actors accused of destabilizing eastern Congo accountable.
XTRAfrica has also documented the widening international response to Rwanda's alleged military support for M23, including U.S. sanctions targeting the Rwanda Defence Force and senior commanders.
For Kinshasa, the latest statement reinforces a central argument of its diplomacy: that restoring peace in eastern Congo requires not only negotiations but also protection of civilians, restoration of Congolese state authority and accountability for abuses committed on DRC territory.
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