Women Raped As Families Watch, Children Killed: African Militia On Rampage

The M23 militia continues to be on a rampage in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with testimonies detailing mass killings, rapes, and forced displacements. In April, in Rubaya, six children were killed in a marketplace when rebels used a wooden pestle and mortar to crush their skulls, The Guardian reported, quoting eyewitnesses.

A 32-year-old survivor witnessed children brutally killed before fleeing. She and her companions were caught. While she and one of her friends were raped, the other was executed. 

The M23 militia, also known as the March 23 Movement, is a rebel group operating in the eastern regions of the DRC. The group has been responsible for numerous human rights abuses, war crimes, and atrocities. The militia's systematic violence includes forcing women into sexual slavery, attacking them in daylight, and killing witnesses.

A 25-year-old mother said she was raped at gunpoint in front of her daughters after her husband was murdered. Another survivor, 27, was gang-raped by eight men while tending crops.

Women have been brutally attacked, with survivors recounting being raped at gunpoint, often in front of their children. Humanitarian organisations warn that sexual violence in the region has reached unprecedented levels, eclipsing even the DRC's grim history of conflict-driven atrocities.

The region, long plagued by conflict, has seen a surge in sexual violence, with NGOs reporting record numbers of rape survivors. The M23, long accused of operating with Rwandan support, has expanded its control over eastern DRC, reportedly with the backing of thousands of Rwandan troops. UN intelligence sources confirm the presence of Rwandan Defence Force soldiers within Congolese borders, with estimates of up to 4,000 troops involved.

Rwanda denied allegations of aiding the M23, citing cross-border threats as justification for its military presence. However, a UN report to the Security Council earlier this year said that Rwanda was liable for M23 war crimes, including territorial conquests and atrocities.

In Goma, the regional capital encircled by squalid displacement camps, over 650,000 people have sought refuge from the violence. Reports from Médecins Sans Frontières reveal record levels of sexual violence, with 25,166 survivors treated in 2023 alone—a number already surpassed halfway through 2024.

The conflict's toll extends beyond immediate atrocities, with the M23 imposing taxation regimes and replacing traditional authority structures in controlled areas. Observers warn this signals a long-term strategy to annex parts of the DRC, potentially mirroring Russia's tactics in Crimea.