In a chilling report released on Tuesday, Human Rights Watch alleges that at least 21 civilians met a grim fate at the hands of the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in Goma, eastern Congo, over a two-day span in February. Does this mark yet another sinister chapter in the region’s protracted conflict?
- Advertisement -
The bloodshed unfolded on February 22 and 23, casting a shadow over the neighborhood near Katindo military camp. Witnesses describe a harrowing scene: seven people, including a woman, executed with shots to the head. Such brutality offers a stark reminder of the ongoing horrors in the region.
“Commanders and combatants who directly ordered or carried out abuses should be held criminally accountable,” Human Rights Watch demands, echoing the calls for justice that permeate the troubled air.
Beginning their aggressive campaign in January, the M23 group has seized control of major eastern Congolese cities, including Goma and Bukavu. The offensive has left in its wake a trail of casualties and has uprooted hundreds of thousands, forcing them into uncertainty and despair.
Elsewhere, an equally disturbing tale emerges: M23 fighters allegedly disposed of bodies at a nearby construction site, no more than a stone’s throw from the camp. Among those dead was a 15-year-old, snatched from his home, later found lifeless at the site.
Kasika neighborhood, a focal target, was identified by the group due to its historical significance as the site of army barracks. The violence flared anew on February 23, when M23 militants rounded up around 20 young men at a local sports field, labeling them erroneously as army affiliates. Three who dared to resist their fates were summarily shot.
The group’s leadership, however, promises inquiry. M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa remarked to Reuters, “Human Rights Watch gives us an opportunity to mirror ourselves. We respect this organization despite its past accusations, which proved to be false.”
Despite these assurances, the grim toll in Goma is presumed higher. Medical personnel report over 50 bodies recovered within Kasika during the violence, an indication of the deeper shadows lurking beneath the reported figures.
The echoes of past atrocities reverberate. Amnesty International highlighted, in March, the rebels’ attack on Goma hospitals, abducting 130, including georned soldiers and their caregivers. Many suffered torture; several remain unaccounted for.
The crisis deepens with UNICEF noting a shocking rise in sexual violence cases. February saw a fivefold increase in rapes treated across 42 health centers in eastern Congo. Tragically, nearly a third of victims were children, with harrowing accounts like that of a mother who reported all six of her daughters, the youngest only 12, raped by armed men in search of food.
This conflict, seemingly insurmountable, has roots dating back to the fallout from Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. The allure of Congo’s abundant mineral wealth further complicates the narrative. Rwanda, for its part, denies U.N. allegations of backing the M23, claiming actions are taken in self-defense against Congolese forces and allied militias.
