Amnesty International has linked the Congolese army (FARDC) with a local armed group accused of torturing civilians, looting property, and abducting women as sexual slaves in Rutshuru territory, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
In a statement, the human rights organisation alleged that the Collective of Movements for Change-People’s Defence Forces (CMC‑FDP) is a member of the Wazalendo, a loose coalition of armed groups that the Congolese army uses as proxy forces in its ongoing fight against the March 23 Movement (M23).
“CMC‑FDP operates primarily in the Bukombo area of Rutshuru, which is currently controlled by M23,” the statement notes.
According to Amnesty, the CMC‑FDP maintains remote bases in Bukombo and targets civilians, often at night or in areas with few M23 fighters.
It notes that after clashes with M23, CMC‑FDP fighters have taken revenge on family members with perceived links to M23—abuses against civilians that violate international humanitarian law and could amount to war crimes.
“Civilians who live in and around Bukombo are trapped, caught between the brutality of M23 and CMC‑FDP. What they are forced to endure daily is horrific, especially in remote areas where the CMC‑FDP operates with complete impunity,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.
Tigere added that the authorities often condemn M23 abuses, as they should, but ignore similar violence and abuses committed by Wazalendo, including the CMC‑FDP.
“They are effectively sanctioning these crimes and shirking their responsibility to protect civilians and bring Wazalendo fighters to justice. International actors must press the DRC government to immediately cease support for these armed groups,” he urged.
The organisation said that between March and April 2026, its officials conducted remote interviews via secure phone applications with 16 victims, survivors, and family members of civilians killed, raped, tortured, abducted, or ill‑treated by CMC‑FDP fighters between June and December 2025.
A woman in her early 20s told Amnesty International that after her husband joined 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 they would kill me, or I had to go with them,” she said.
She added that she was then detained in a house in their camp and presented with a commander who would be her “husband”.
She was fed a cup of taro root and corn every other day. She noted that she saw two other women who were also detained in the camp, but fighters threatened to shoot her if she spoke to them.
While in the house, she said the commander raped her repeatedly.
“I thought if I refused, he would kill me. He came every night [for sex].” She fled when M23 attacked the CMC‑FDP camp.
Another 22‑year‑old woman reported that the group abducted her in June 2025 after her husband joined M23, took her to their base in Mudugudu in Bukombo, where she was forced to be the “wife” of a commander, like four other women in the camp who were also forced to be “wives” of fighters.
While in the camp, Amnesty says she confessed to having witnessed civilians detained and abused.
“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. There were [underground detention cells] where they would put people. They detained people for money,” she told the organisation.
Later in October 2025, she fled the camp after it was attacked by M23. She is among nine victims and survivors who claimed that CMC‑FDP fighters killed their husbands or abducted them because their sons or husbands had joined M23.
Other victims said they contracted sexually transmitted infections after their rapes, which caused pain and suffering, especially since many survivors of sexual violence by Wazalendo armed groups do not have access to appropriate medical or psychological care.
Another woman reported that her husband was killed after their son, who she said had left home without notice, joined M23.
“I said I didn’t know how he was recruited. Then he started shooting my husband.” She added that her husband was shot three times in the chest in front of his 8‑year‑old and 6‑year‑old children.
Amnesty further said that before the arrival of M23 in the area, CMC‑FDP collected money from residents, a form of tax known as lala salama (“sleep peacefully” in Swahili), ostensibly meant to finance the protection of civilians.
Amnesty also says it received credible reports from human rights defenders of similar abuses in the area by the group, including summary killings and the burning of houses.
The organisation shared its findings with the group, requesting information about the conduct of CMC‑FDP commanders and fighters toward civilians in areas it controls.
A response was sent back by CMC‑FDP spokesperson Héritier Donald Gashegu on June 16, in which the group denied responsibility for the abuses documented by Amnesty, adding that “CMC‑FDP remains committed to respecting human rights and the discipline of its combatants.”
CMC‑FDP said that it “categorically rejects” the allegations that its fighters raped, sexually enslaved, or forced women to “marry” its commanders.
“No complaints, official reports, or referrals have been brought to the attention of our internal disciplinary or judicial bodies regarding the mentioned incidents,” the group told Amnesty.
In May 2023, the DRC government passed a law creating a Reserve Defence Army that integrated certain local armed groups, including the CMC‑FDP, into the Congolese army, creating a proxy force to support the fight against M23.
“According to an internal document from the North Kivu military government obtained by Ebuteli, a Congolese research group, CMC‑FDP received more than 100,000 rounds of ammunition and more than 100 40mm rockets from the FARDC in late 2023 and early 2024,” Amnesty said.
In July 2024, the European Union sanctioned CMC‑FDP’s top commander, Dominique “Domi” Kamanzi Ndaruhutse, for allegedly “committing acts that constitute serious human rights violations and abuses.”
According to the UN Group of Experts on DRC, the group collaborated with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), another armed group based in eastern DRC, particularly in Rutshuru’s Bwito area.
The FDLR consists of Rwandan and Congolese fighters, including remnants of the Interahamwe and former Rwandan soldiers responsible for the 1994 genocide, alongside others not involved in the genocide.
“It is inexcusable that the Congolese army continues to support CMC‑FDP fighters despite their appalling abuses against civilians. The group’s abuses have gone unabated for years. The Congolese government must immediately end its support and collaboration with CMC‑FDP and other abusive Wazalendo groups and hold them accountable,” said Tigere Chagutah.
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