(Nairobi) -The Rwandan forces and M23 armed group that captured the city of Uvira in South Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on December 10, 2025, have put civilians at grave risk of abuse, Human Rights Watch said today. These forces and the Congolese military and its allies should facilitate safe passage for civilians fleeing the fighting and ensure that humanitarian aid reaches all those in need.
Late on December 9, the M23 and Rwandan forces entered Uvira after week-long fighting that pushed out Congolese and Burundian military forces and a coalition of militias known as the Wazalendo. The use of attack drones, large caliber artillery, and other weapons resulted in at least 74 civilian deaths and 83 wounded, according to the United Nations and media reports. The UN said that about 200,000 people have fled the fighting, including over 30,000 who crossed into Burundi.
"The Washington Accords addressing the situation in eastern Congo have not resulted in greater security or access to assistance for civilians near Uvira in South Kivu," said Clémentine de Montjoye, senior Great Lakes researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The warring parties are continuing to commit atrocities and hinder humanitarian assistance and should be held to account."
The humanitarian situation in Uvira and its vicinity is dire. Hospitals and health centers have been overwhelmed at a time when humanitarian assistance has dropped because of lack of access and funding shortfalls. Refugees in Burundi told Human Rights Watch they were receiving little to no assistance. The UN World Food Programme has suspended its assistance across South Kivu. Rwandan and M23 authorities should guarantee access to items essential for people's survival, such as water, food, and medicine.
UN and military sources told Human Rights Watch that several thousand Rwandan soldiers, including special forces, crossed the border into Congo in recent weeks.
During the first week of December, Rwandan and M23 forces captured towns and villages on the road to Uvira, including Luvungi, Mutarule, and Sange. Sources reported artillery shelling, attack drones, and other explosive weapons being used in the offensive. The United States told the UN Security Council on December 12 that "Rwanda has [recently] deployed multiple surface-to-air missiles and other heavy and sophisticated weaponry into North and South Kivu to aid M23."
"The drones dropped bombs on the population and people's houses," said a 60-year-old man from Luvungi who fled to Burundi. "I saw people trying to flee the fighting or hiding in their houses killed, including children in Mutarule."
Several explosions in the Sange town center killed at least 36 people, including civilians, based on videos verified by Human Rights Watch and a local human rights defender and media reports. UN and local sources told Human Rights Watch that the explosions were the result of drone attacks and internal fighting between the Congolese army and the Wazalendo.
A video filmed on December 7 shows more than 20 bodies strewn across a street near the main intersection. Some are in military uniforms, but most are in civilian clothing, and some appear to be children. A civil society source said a family of five was killed in one explosion, including children ages 13 and 15. Three videos filmed on December 9 show volunteers digging graves on the side of the main road about 30 meters from the location of the bodies.
On December 9, a radio journalist, Janvier Lwesho Nyakirigo, and his brother were killed in an explosion at their house in Kiliba, 11 kilometers north of Uvira, two local sources said.
Concerns for the safety of civilians in South Kivu have been heightened by rising tensions and grave violations of international humanitarian law by the parties to the conflict. After capturing Goma and Bukavu, the provincial capitals of North and South Kivu, in early 2025, M23 fighters carried out widespread abuses, including summary executions, forced recruitment drives, and sexual violence. The M23 also unlawfully transferred Congolese citizens and Rwandan refugees to Rwanda.
Several human rights defenders and journalists in Uvira and newly occupied territories have expressed concern to Human Rights Watch that they will face retaliation for their work, as did others after the capture of Goma and Bukavu.
After the M23 took control of Uvira on December 10, their fighters committed abuses. On December 10, in Kasenga neighborhood, M23 fighters shot and killed two 25-year-old men in civilian clothing after accusing them of being Wazalendo fighters, relatives and witnesses said. The M23 fighters also detained and later executed a 57-year-old man after he refused to hand over his phone, a relative and witness said.
On December 11 and 12, M23 fighters continued to execute young men and suspected Wazalendo fighters, including apparently unarmed people in civilian clothing, based on several residents and media reports. When a relative of a man killed went to collect his body from Kavimvira neighborhood, he said he saw scores of bodies there, which a UN source confirmed.
Throughout 2025, Congolese soldiers and Wazalendo fighters have also summarily executed and committed sexual violence against civilians. Wazalendo fighters have also harassed, threatened, abducted, and restricted access to basic services for members of the Banyamulenge community in Uvira, who are South Kivu-based Congolese Tutsis, accusing them of supporting the M23.
Four Uvira residents said that Congolese soldiers and Wazalendo fighters harassed civilians and looted houses as they retreated from the city. On December 10, Wazalendo fighters summarily killed a member of the Banyamulenge community, Congolese army Lt. Munyakuru Mushambaro, in Kabindula neighborhood, military sources and a neighbor reported. "They started shooting at the door; he tried to escape but they shot him and killed him on the spot," said the witness. "They began singing anti-Tutsi songs, saying 'now a Rwandan is dead, he got what he deserved.'"
The offensive on Uvira came days after the signing ceremony of the US-brokered Washington Accords on December 4. While the accord and its economic framework call for some peacekeeping measures, such as the removal of Rwandan troops from Congo, the agreement's broad commitments need to be enforced, Human Rights Watch said.
The United States, European Union, and African Union should increase humanitarian assistance and press the governments of Burundi, Congo, and Rwanda to prioritize protecting civilians, ensure humanitarian access, and provide safe passage for civilians seeking to flee the flighting. The US and EU should urgently adopt new targeted sanctions against Rwandan officials responsible for, or complicit in, violations of international law, while swiftly reviewing their cooperation with Rwanda-including in the security and minerals sectors-to ensure they are not fueling further abuses.
Governments should also press countries in the region to facilitate access to the newly created UN Commission of Inquiry on eastern Congo to carry out vital evidence collection and documentation. They should call for an end to the impunity and take action to ensure that commanders and officials responsible for serious human rights violations are held accountable.
On December 12, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss the latest escalation in the conflict. The US delegation accused Kigali of being "intimately involved" in planning and executing the conflict and said Rwanda had at least 5,000 to 7,000 troops in eastern Congo before this latest offensive began, despite Rwanda's denials.
Parties to the Washington Accords should go beyond condemnation and take strong action to enforce compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law, Human Rights Watch said.
"The situation facing South Kivu's civilians is becoming increasingly perilous and the humanitarian needs are enormous," de Montjoye said. "Unless those responsible for abuses face serious consequences, given the events of the past year, the worst may be yet to come."
