M23’s Forced Recruitment Campaign in Eastern Congo

Since mid-2024, the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group has conducted roundups across North and South Kivu, seizing civilians, police, former soldiers and children as young as 12. Detainees are taken by truck to the Rumangabo and Tshanzu camps in North Kivu for forced labor, combat training and execution. The campaign intensified after M23 captured eastern cities in 2025, expanding its recruitment zones.

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch interviewed 102 former detainees and used satellite imagery to confirm the camps. It estimates “thousands” recruited, many minors. In May 2026, HRW documented 34 detainees at Makala prison in Kinshasa—14 children—who surrendered after forced conscription. Survivors say hundreds likely died in 2025, though the exact toll remains unknown.

Human Rights Watch

Ambushes and checkpoints seized people, forced truck transport to the camps, beatings for minor infractions such as drinking from puddles, denial of food, water and medical care, and the use of children for guard duty, labor and combat training.

Human Rights Watch

HRW researcher Clémentine de Montjoye called the abuses “war crimes” and urged bodies to hold Rwanda accountable. Rwanda’s government and M23 officials have repeatedly denied the allegations and have not opened investigations. In June 2026, HRW wrote to Congo’s justice and defense ministers seeking clarification on the legal basis for detaining former recruits in Makala prison.

Human Rights Watch

HRW urges the United Nations, African Union, European Union, United States and other partners to review military aid to Rwanda, impose targeted sanctions on commanders linked to the camps, and support International Criminal Court investigations into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Human Rights Watch

Rwanda’s denial contrasts with detainee testimonies that identified Rwandan soldiers by uniform, equipment and language. No independent forensic investigation of the camps or mass graves has been conducted, leaving the death count and command responsibility unresolved.

Human Rights Watch

The documented abuses meet the legal definition of war crimes, could trigger International Criminal Court jurisdiction, and may prompt sanctions and a reassessment of foreign military support to Rwanda amid regional instability.

Human Rights Watch

• “The Rwandan-backed M23 is running so-called training camps in eastern Congo, where recruits have suffered abuse and torture, at times with deadly consequences,” — Clémentine de Montjoye, Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch

• “If we were caught trying to drink from puddles on the ground, the guards beat us violently,” — Civilian detainee, held five months

Human Rights Watch

• “I was just a student, I had never seen a dead body before. They made me bury bodies seven times, we put them in a big grave.” — Former detainee, Tshanzu camp

Human Rights Watch

• “The forced recruitment of civilians, including children, is part of a decades-long cycle of abuse in eastern Congo,” — Clémentine de Montjoye, Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch

The ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor has been urged to open investigations, while Congolese authorities are asked to preserve evidence at Rumangabo and Tshanzu and international partners consider targeted sanctions.

Human Rights Watch