M23 rebels committed possible war crimes in eastern DR Congo, Amnesty International says

Human authorities organisation Amnesty International has accused nan Rwandan-backed M23 rebels of killing, torturing and forcibly disappearing civilian detainees successful 2 cities successful nan eastbound of nan Democratic Republic of Congo. 

The NGO made nan claims successful a caller investigation published connected Tuesday.

The report's publication comes amid awesome fighting successful nan mineral-rich eastbound of nan country, wherever M23 rebels seized nan largest city, Goma, successful January. Thousands were killed and tens of thousands were displaced there.

M23 past took Bukavu, nan region’s 2nd biggest city, successful February.

Between February and April, Amnesty International interviewed 18 civilians who said they had been detained by M23 successful Goma and Bukavu.

Many of nan detainees, who were each men, said that nan rebel group did not supply them pinch grounds to support nan allegation that they supported nan Congolese service aliases government.

Torture, killings, disappearances

Nine of nan interviewed men said they had been tortured by M13 fighters, while 8 group told Amnesty that they saw different detainees dice successful detention, apt from torture and sadistic conditions. 

Two of nan interviewees described seeing fighters from nan rebel group termination 2 detainees pinch hammers and sprout different dead.

Amnesty said that M23 fighters often refused to assistance relatives of detainees entree to their loved ones, aliases denied that they were held there, which nan quality authorities group said amounted to enforced disappearances.

The rebel group has besides made families salary sizeable ransoms to person their family members freed, nan quality authorities organisation said.

The interviewed detainees reported hundreds of group being held successful overcrowded, unsanitary cells without capable food, h2o aliases sanitation.

“It was incredibly hot… People were drinking each other’s urine. On rainy days, you could portion rainwater,” said 1 erstwhile detainee, who added that location were only 3 toilets for hundreds of people.

“Congolese cognize each excessively good nan cruelty of M23…They proceed to unrecorded successful misery arsenic world actors person go complacent, waiting patiently for a bid woody while M23 keeps brutalising Congolese,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

Amnesty International demands that nan group instantly merchandise each civilians and “cease these unlawful, sadistic practices”, Chagutah said.

“These acts break world humanitarian rule and whitethorn magnitude to warfare crimes,” Amnesty said successful a statement.

Child executions

M23 is nan astir powerful of nan astir 100 equipped groups fighting for power successful nan country’s east, which holds valuable mineral deposits that are captious to overmuch of nan world’s technology.

They are supported by astir 4,000 troops from neighbouring Rwanda, UN experts say.

After M23 fighters seized Bukavu successful February, nan UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said his agency had “confirmed cases of summary execution of children by M23 aft they entered nan metropolis of Bukavu”.

Türk said his agency was besides alert of children pinch weapons.

The UN has accused some nan Congolese authorities forces and M23 rebels of recruiting kid soldiers, and nan UN Human Rights Council successful February launched an investigation into atrocities committed by some sides, including rapes and killings.

The decades-long warfare has created 1 of nan world’s worst humanitarian crises, displacing much than 7 cardinal people, including 100,000 who fled their homes this year.