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Human Rights Watch Reports Killings, Rapes and Abductions During M23 Occupation of Uvira in Late 2025
Human Rights Watch documented atrocities by M23 rebels and the Rwandan army during their month-long occupation of Uvira in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in late 2025 and early 2026. The rights group released its report on Thursday detailing the abuses. Senior researcher Clémentine de Montjoye discussed the findings with FRANCE 24 journalist Georja Calvin Smith.
May 15, 5:12 AM·1m read1 source
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M23 rebels and the Rwandan army carried out killings, rapes and abductions during a month-long occupation of Uvira in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that took place in late 2025 and early 2026. Human Rights Watch released a report on Thursday detailing those killings, rapes and abductions by M23 rebels and the Rwandan army in Uvira.
The organization said the abuses occurred throughout the occupation of the eastern Congolese city.
Clémentine de Montjoye, senior Great Lakes researcher at Human Rights Watch, described the patterns of violence uncovered by the group’s investigators. France 24 reported that Georja Calvin Smith, a FRANCE 24 journalist, interviewed de Montjoye about the Human Rights Watch report. The month-long occupation ended before the report’s publication.
Investigators gathered testimony and other evidence from the period spanning late 2025 into early 2026, according to the document released on Thursday. Human Rights Watch has previously documented abuses linked to the M23 offensive across eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The latest report focuses specifically on the conduct of both M23 fighters and Rwandan army personnel inside Uvira itself.
