Drc authorities must sever ties with armed group implicated in war crimes

A disturbing report reveals that an armed group, receiving support from the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), has engaged in the killing and torture of civilians, systematic looting, and the abduction of women, subjecting them to sexual slavery in the Rutshuru territory of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). These grave accusations emerged on June 25, highlighting severe human rights violations in the region.

The Collective of Movements for Change-People’s Defense Forces (CMC-FDP) operates as part of the Wazalendo (meaning “patriots” in Swahili), a loosely organized coalition of armed factions. The Congolese army utilizes these groups as auxiliary forces in its ongoing conflict against the M23 Movement, which is reportedly backed by Rwanda. The CMC-FDP primarily conducts its operations within the Bukombo groupement in Rutshuru, an area currently under M23 control.

Civilians residing in or around Bukombo find themselves caught in a brutal crossfire between the M23 and the CMC-FDP. The daily atrocities they endure are horrific, particularly in remote areas where the CMC-FDP operates with complete impunity.

Tigere Chagutah, regional director for East and Southern Africa at Amnesty International

Maintaining isolated bases within Bukombo, the CMC-FDP specifically targets civilians, often under the cover of night or in locations where M23 fighters are less prevalent. Following clashes with the M23, CMC-FDP combatants have exacted revenge on individuals perceived to have familial connections to M23 members. Such human rights abuses against non-combatants represent egregious breaches of international humanitarian law and may constitute war crimes, demanding immediate attention from the international community and African politics observers.

“Civilians living in or around Bukombo are trapped between the M23’s brutality and that of the CMC-FDP. What they are forced to endure daily is terrible, especially in isolated areas where the CMC-FDP acts with complete impunity,” stated Tigere Chagutah, regional director for East and Southern Africa at Amnesty International.

“While DRC authorities rightly condemn M23 violence, they often overlook similar violence and human rights abuses perpetrated by the Wazalendo, including the CMC-FDP. In effect, they tacitly endorse these crimes, failing in their duty to protect civilians and bring Wazalendo combatants to justice. The international community must exert pressure on the DRC government to immediately cease its support for these armed groups,” Chagutah urged.

Between March and April 2026, Amnesty International conducted remote interviews, utilizing secure phone applications, with 16 victims, including survivors of rape and sexual assault, and family members of civilians killed, raped, tortured, abducted, or subjected to ill-treatment by CMC-FDP combatants between June and December 2025. Credible information from human rights defenders also reported similar violence attributed to this group in the region, including summary executions and the burning of homes, painting a grim picture for Africa news outlets.

The international community must exert pressure on the DRC government to immediately cease its support for these armed groups.

Tigere Chagutah

On June 8, 2026, Amnesty International formally communicated its findings to the CMC-FDP, requesting information regarding the conduct of the group’s commanders and combatants towards civilians in areas under their control. Héritier Donald Gashegu, the CMC-FDP spokesperson, responded in writing on June 16, 2026. In his letter, the CMC-FDP denied all responsibility for the documented human rights abuses, asserting its unwavering commitment to human rights and the discipline of its fighters.

Rape and other sexual violence against women

A young woman in her early twenties recounted to Amnesty International that after her husband joined the M23 in May 2025, CMC-FDP fighters abducted her from her home and held her captive for three months. “They gave me a choice: either I went with them, or they would kill me,” she stated.

She testified that CMC-FDP combatants detained her in a house within their camp, introducing her to a commander who was to become her “husband.” Daily, the fighters provided her with a cup of taro and corn. She also saw two other women held in the camp but was threatened with being shot if she spoke to them. The woman confirmed that the commander repeatedly raped her. “I thought he would kill me if I refused. He came every night [for sexual relations].” She managed to escape when the M23 attacked the CMC-FDP camp.

Amnesty International also interviewed a 22-year-old woman who reported being abducted by CMC-FDP fighters in June 2025, after her husband joined the M23. They transported her to their Mudugudu base in Bukombo, where she was coerced into becoming a commander’s “wife.” “He said: ‘If you don’t sleep with me, I’ll kill you.’” She observed four other women in the camp, similarly forced into “marriages” with combatants.

She further explained witnessing civilians being detained and mistreated at the camp. “They would take people and bring them to the base. If you had nothing of value, they would beat you. If you were lucky, they would leave you alone. They put people in [underground detention cells]. They held people to extract money.” These actions bear the hallmarks of the war crime of hostage-taking.

This woman fled in October 2025 after the M23 assaulted the camp.

Both survivors of sexual violence interviewed by Amnesty International endured conditions akin to sexual slavery. They reported contracting sexually transmitted infections as a result of the rapes, causing them pain and suffering. While these two women received treatment at health centers, many victims of sexual violence perpetrated by Wazalendo armed groups lack access to adequate medical or psychological care across the continent.

Sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence committed during armed conflict constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law, amounting to war crimes. They also infringe upon numerous human rights, including the right to equality and non-discrimination, the right to physical integrity, and the right not to be subjected to torture or other forms of ill-treatment.

The CMC-FDP categorically “rejected” allegations of its combatants raping, sexually enslaving, or forcing women into “marriages” with its commanders. “No complaint, official report, or referral has been brought to the attention of our internal disciplinary or judicial bodies concerning the facts mentioned,” they claimed.

CMC-FDP leaders should have been aware of the violence perpetrated by their commanders. They could be considered complicit if they knew of these abuses and failed to act to prevent or stop them.

Ill-treatment and other violence against women

On November 20, 2025, eight individuals, including a pregnant woman and her husband, sought refuge in a banana plantation in Mashango, a village in Bukombo, during a firefight between the M23 and local armed groups, likely including the CMC-FDP.

Armed combatants discovered them and demanded cooking oil. “We told them we had no oil left. They then looted everything from our homes and burned our houses. One [of the combatants] took pity on me. He said: ‘This woman is pregnant and will soon give birth; we must spare her.’”

She identified them as CMC-FDP fighters because the group maintained a base in Mashango, within the Bukombo groupement, a region they controlled.

The combatants took her husband and killed him. “They cut him with a machete. Everyone was killed with machetes. I then went searching for the bodies… when we found them, they were already decomposing.” This woman gave birth to a baby boy, alone in the forest, at 5:30 p.m. that same day.

Another female victim informed Amnesty International that her husband joined the M23 in June 2025, and CMC-FDP combatants came to her home the following month. “Four of them [arrived] at noon,” she recounted. “Two had pistols, the other two had whips. I asked them to have mercy on me because I was pregnant. They replied: ‘Your pregnancy is not our problem; we want to see your husband.’ They beat me severely. They hit me and wounded me with a knife. The next day, I had a miscarriage.”

The CMC-FDP denied the allegation that they looted and burned homes.

Revenge killings and summary executions

Nine victims and survivors reported to Amnesty International that CMC-FDP combatants had killed their husbands or abducted them because their sons or husbands had joined the M23, reflecting a disturbing trend in the DRC conflict.

A 35-year-old woman stated that a commander and six CMC-FDP combatants arrived at her home in Kyahemba, a village in the Bukombo groupement, in November 2025. She explained that the commander entered the house and asked her: “Did you let [the M23] recruit your child?” The woman indicated that her 15-year-old son had left without warning earlier that month to join the M23. “I replied that I didn’t know how he was recruited. At that moment, he started shooting my husband.” She specified that her husband was shot three times in the chest in front of their eight and six-year-old children. She was later informed that her son had died while with the M23.

They shot him [my husband] three times in the chest and genitals. After shooting him, they looted the house. They left with four goats, clothes, and cooking pots.

Elisabeth*

According to four victims and information provided by a human rights defender, a CMC-FDP commander based in Kyahemba was involved in the detention or killing of their relatives.

Another woman, Elisabeth*, reported that six CMC-FDP combatants, four of whom were former neighbors, came to her home in November 2025, searching for her husband. “They told us to leave the house. They said: ‘You are collaborating with the [M23]…’ They acted as if [my husband] was in league with the M23. They shot him three times in the chest and genitals. After shooting him, they looted the house. They left with four goats, clothes, and cooking pots.”

In its response to Amnesty International, the CMC-FDP did not specify measures taken to investigate allegations of its combatants killing civilians. It claimed insufficient information to conduct investigations.

Extortion and threats

Before the M23’s arrival in the region, the CMC-FDP collected money from residents, a form of tax known as la salama (“sleep peacefully” in Swahili). These “taxes” were purportedly intended to fund civilian protection. One victim stated that her husband joined the M23 because he was weary of these extortions, a common issue in African economy news.

Innocent*, who worked in Kyahemba, indicated that CMC-FDP combatants had approached him three times since his son joined the M23 in August 2025, demanding money on this pretext. He gave them 300 US dollars. “Each time, they told me to make sure my son joined their group. I said it wasn’t me who took him there. How was I going to find him? Each time they came, they beat me. They burned three houses, mine and two others. They said they would kill me if I didn’t give them money.”

Justine*, a 20-year-old woman, reported that her husband fled without warning in July or August of the previous year. In September, CMC-FDP combatants came to her home. “I look like a Tutsi. [The CMC-FDP combatants] forced the door, entered, and whipped me once on the back and once on the chest. They tied my hands. They told me: ‘Tell us where your husband is.’” When she replied that she did not know, they explained they would take her to one of the CMC-FDP’s military commanders, implying he would force her to reveal her husband’s whereabouts.

Each time they came, they beat me. They burned three houses, mine and two others. They said they would kill me if I didn’t give them money.

Innocent*

En route, one of the combatants helped her escape. “I was carrying a child, and the combatant took pity on the baby. He said: ‘If you go through here, they will kill you.’”

Justine believed fear drove her husband to join the M23. She explained that in July or August, the M23 had threatened her husband, stating: “[You] are a Tutsi from Rwanda, and all Tutsis who do not join the M23 will be beheaded.”

The CMC-FDP wrote that it had “neither a policy nor a practice of demanding ransoms or payments from relatives of those who have joined the M23 or any other enemy movement. If isolated cases of behavior contrary to our principles existed, we would be the first interested in knowing the perpetrators so that appropriate measures can be taken in accordance with disciplinary rules and the demands of justice.”

CMC-FDP leaders should have known that extortion and ransom practices were occurring and had a responsibility to investigate them and hold involved combatants accountable. If they knew these actions were taking place and failed to take necessary steps to stop them, they could be deemed complicit.

Congolese army support for CMC-FDP

In May 2023, the DRC enacted a law establishing the Armed Reserve of Defense, which provided for the integration of certain local armed groups, including the CMC-FDP, into the Congolese army, thereby forming an auxiliary force to combat the M23. This move has significant implications for African politics English discourse.

The FARDC provides financial aid and supplies weapons and ammunition to these armed groups. In December 2025, the DRC Minister of Finance informed the National Assembly’s Defense and Security Commission that the state was disbursing 4 million US dollars monthly to Wazalendo groups.

According to an internal document from the North Kivu military government, obtained by Ebuteli, a Congolese research group, the CMC-FDP received over 100,000 rounds of ammunition and more than 100 40-millimeter rockets from the FARDC in late 2023 and early 2024.

It is unacceptable that the Congolese army continues to support CMC-FDP combatants despite the horrific human rights abuses they inflict on civilians.

Tigere Chagutah

In July 2024, the European Union sanctioned the Commander-in-Chief of the CMC-FDP, Dominique “Domi” Kamanzi Ndaruhutse, for “committing acts that constitute serious human rights violations and abuses.” Ndaruhutse has fought with various nyatura (“strike hard” in Kinyarwanda) groups for over a decade and, according to the United Nations Group of Experts on the DRC, collaborated with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), particularly in the Bwito groupement (Rutshuru territory). The FDLR is an opposition armed group operating in eastern DRC, composed of Rwandan and Congolese fighters. Its ranks include former members of the Interahamwe and former Rwandan soldiers responsible for the 1994 genocide, as well as combatants who did not participate in the genocide.

“It is unacceptable that the Congolese army continues to support CMC-FDP combatants despite the horrific human rights abuses they inflict on civilians,” Tigere Chagutah declared. “The group has been engaged in rampant violence for years. Congolese authorities must immediately end collaboration with and support for the CMC-FDP and other Wazalendo groups committing abuses, and they must be held accountable.”

* Pseudonyms are used to protect the identity of interviewees for safety and confidentiality reasons.