Civilians have also been harmed by apparently indiscriminate shelling by M23 forces. Some were killed as they attempted to flee while others were executed at close range. In one of the worst incidents, in Ruvumu village on June 21, M23 fighters shot and killed at least 20 civilians, including two teenage boys, who they accused of having informed the Congolese army of their positions and hideouts. Human Rights Watch has documented that M23 fighters deliberately killed at least 30 civilians in areas under their control since mid-June. Since M23 fighters took control of several towns and villages in June, they have resorted to some of the same brutal tactics, and there are growing indications that Rwanda may be supporting the M23 once again. Basic freedoms of expression and association have also drastically narrowed.Īgainst this backdrop, the resurgence in recent months of the M23 – a rebellion originally backed by Rwanda and Uganda, and responsible for widespread war crimes a decade ago – has made a bad situation even worse. Over 2,500 civilians have been killed by armed groups and government forces in the two provinces since the state of siege began, according to the Kivu Security Tracker. More than one year on, the security and humanitarian situation has deteriorated. To address the insecurity, Congo’s government declared a “state of siege” and imposed martial law in Ituri and North Kivu provinces in May 2021, replacing civilian authorities with military and police officers, including those implicated in serious human rights violations. Many of them have also recruited children among their ranks. Many of these groups, as well as their backers among the Congolese political and military elite, control lucrative mineral resources, land, and taxation rackets. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan-led armed Islamist group with ties to the Islamic State (ISIS), has been responsible for some of the deadliest attacks on civilians in recent years. Some 120 armed groups are still active in eastern Congo, including several groups that include fighters from neighboring Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda. Nearly 5.5 million people are displaced across the country, and one in three people are facing severe or acute food insecurity, according to the United Nations. The humanitarian and human rights situation across the country, and especially in the east, remains dire. But three and half years later, we have yet to see meaningful progress on human rights or the systemic reforms needed to finally break the cycles of violence, abuse, corruption, and impunity that have plagued the country for decades. Many hoped that the human rights and security situation in Congo would improve when President Félix Tshisekedi came to power in January 2019, following a protracted, violent political crisis as former President Joseph Kabila held on to power beyond the end of his constitutionally mandated two-term limit. Ida Sawyer JTom Lantos Testimony on DRC
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