Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group of executing at least 21 civilians during a two-day killing spree in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, on February 22 and 23, 2025. The findings, published in a detailed HRW report on Tuesday, add to growing concerns over escalating violence and alleged war crimes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). According to the report, dozens of M23 fighters entered Goma’s Kasika neighborhood on February 22. They shot seven people in the head near the Katindo military camp, a former base of the Congolese armed forces (FARDC). The next morning, the bodies of 11 more civilians, including a young boy, were discovered at a nearby construction site.
On February 23, M23 combatants reportedly rounded up about 20 men near a local sports field, accusing them of affiliation with FARDC or of resisting forced recruitment. Witnesses told HRW that three of the men were shot dead as they tried to flee. Survivors and local residents say the killings were carried out methodically and with apparent intent to instill fear.
HRW researchers say the violence appeared to be a deliberate campaign by M23 leadership to assert dominance over Goma by targeting those suspected of sympathizing with the Congolese government. “The M23’s brutal control over Goma has created a climate of fear among those perceived to be allied to the Congolese government,” said Clémentine de Montjoye, HRW’s senior Great Lakes researcher. “These mass killings appear to reflect top-level strategy, not isolated indiscipline.” Medical personnel in Goma reported receiving more than 50 civilian bodies in the aftermath, suggesting the death toll may be far higher than initially confirmed.
The charges come amid a renewed wave of violence in eastern DRC. M23 seized Goma in January and extended its control to Bukavu in February, intensifying a conflict that has killed thousands and displaced over 600,000 people in the past year alone. Amnesty International echoed HRW’s findings in a separate report on May 27, accusing M23 rebels of extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances of civilians in both Goma and Bukavu. Amnesty stated that the acts constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes.
M23 and its political ally, the Congo River Alliance, issued a joint denial on May 30, dismissing all accusations as politically motivated. Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened an investigation into alleged atrocities committed by all parties to the conflict in North Kivu. Rwanda continues to deny backing M23, despite mounting evidence and regional condemnation. The United Nations and multiple human rights groups have long accused Kigali of supplying the group with weapons, logistics, and troops. The DR Congo government has called for urgent international intervention, as diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict remain stalled.
