They took my clothes off, tied my arms, and raped me. When my husband tried to stop them, they shot him dead.
In the weeks following M23's December capture of Uvira, a lakeside city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a pattern of deliberate violence against civilians has been carefully reconstructed by Human Rights Watch — 53 executions, systematic rape, forced disappearances, and the recruitment of children, all unfolding block by block through a city that had nowhere to run. The findings arrive against a backdrop of regional catastrophe, where nearly two million people have been displaced from South Kivu and over 35,000 children documented as victims of sexual violence in a single year. Rwanda, whose forces UN experts assess as exercising de facto control over M23, continues to deny any role, leaving accountability suspended in the space between evidence and denial. What Uvira reveals is not an aberration but a window into what conquest looks like when the world is not watching.
- Fifty-three civilians — including six children — were executed in methodical door-to-door raids through Uvira's neighborhoods, with survivors describing neighbors shot in the head and entire families killed in moments.
- Sexual violence was wielded as a weapon of occupation: women were bound, assaulted, and threatened with death, while a twelve-year-old boy was shot and then bayoneted to confirm he was dead.
- Despite UN expert assessments that Rwanda trains, equips, and directs M23 operations, Kigali has refused to respond to HRW's documented allegations, leaving a wall of denial around mounting evidence.
- A U.S.-brokered peace deal between Congo and Rwanda did not prevent Uvira's fall, and diplomatic pressure — not accountability — was ultimately what forced the rebels to withdraw in January.
- The violence in Uvira is one node in a regional catastrophe: nearly two million displaced in South Kivu, and more than 35,000 child sexual violence cases recorded in just the first nine months of 2025.
When M23 fighters and soldiers believed to be Rwandan swept into Uvira in December, they held the lakeside Congolese city for weeks. Human Rights Watch has now reconstructed what that occupation meant for the people trapped inside.
Investigators spoke with 130 residents and documented 53 executions carried out in systematic door-to-door raids — 46 men, one woman, and six children. Survivors described watching neighbors shot in the head, and one man recounted seeing his brother, sister-in-law, and two children killed before he fled to the lake. The killings moved through the city methodically, block by block.
Sexual violence was pervasive. In one account, a woman was bound with her own clothing and assaulted while her husband was shot dead for trying to intervene. Another survivor was threatened with death if she refused. A twelve-year-old boy was shot by M23 fighters and then stabbed with a bayonet to confirm he was dead. HRW also documented abductions, forced disappearances, coerced recruitment, and visited three mass graves — one at a site previously held by UN peacekeepers.
Rwanda has denied any role in the conflict, even as UN experts assess that it maintains de facto control over M23, supervises its recruits, and supplies it with advanced weaponry. Neither Rwanda nor M23 leadership responded when HRW sent its findings to them in April.
Uvira fell just days after a U.S.-brokered peace agreement between Congo and Rwanda — a deal meant to stabilize a resource-rich and long-suffering region. The city was held until January, when diplomatic pressure forced a withdrawal. But the broader catastrophe continues: nearly two million people have been displaced from South Kivu, and UNICEF documented more than 35,000 cases of child sexual violence in the region in just the first nine months of 2025. The investigation into Uvira is the first detailed account of what M23 occupation looks like from the inside — and what it reveals is systematic brutality visited on those with no way out.
In December, fighters from the M23 rebel group and soldiers believed to be from Rwanda swept into Uvira, a lakeside city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and held it for weeks. What happened during that occupation has now been documented in detail by Human Rights Watch, and the picture that emerges is one of systematic killing, rape, and terror visited on trapped civilians.
HRW investigators interviewed 130 residents and found evidence that 53 people were executed during door-to-door raids through Uvira's neighborhoods. The dead included 46 men, one woman, and six children. One survivor described watching his neighbor shot in the head. Another man recounted seeing four family members killed in quick succession—his brother, the brother's wife, and two children—before he managed to escape to the lake. The executions appear to have been methodical, moving through the city block by block, house by house.
The violence extended far beyond summary killing. HRW documented eight cases of rape committed by the occupying forces. In one account, a woman described being stripped, bound with her own clothes, and assaulted while her husband was shot dead for trying to intervene. Another survivor reported being threatened with death if she refused sexual assault. A third woman recounted hearing Rwandan soldiers order her execution, only to have Congolese fighters in the group countermand the order with a different crime in mind. Children were not spared. A twelve-year-old boy was shot by M23 fighters, then stabbed in the leg with a bayonet to verify he was dead.
The broader pattern of abuse included abductions, forced disappearances, and coerced recruitment into the rebel ranks. HRW investigators also visited three mass graves in the city, including one at a site that had previously been controlled by UN peacekeepers. The organization believes the documented atrocities constitute war crimes.
Rwanda has consistently denied any involvement in the conflict or support for M23, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. UN experts have assessed that Rwanda maintains "de facto control" of M23 operations, that recruits are trained under Rwandan supervision, and that the group is equipped with advanced Rwandan weaponry. When HRW sent detailed allegations to both the Rwandan government and M23 leadership in April, neither responded.
The capture of Uvira came just days after U.S. President Donald Trump brokered a peace agreement between DR Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda's Paul Kagame, an effort intended to stabilize the resource-rich region. The city, which sits on the shores of Lake Tanganyika and serves as a gateway to Burundi, fell to the rebels in December and was held until January, when intense diplomatic pressure forced a withdrawal.
The violence in Uvira is not an isolated incident but part of a much larger catastrophe unfolding across eastern Congo. A separate report from the United Nations Children's Fund documented more than 35,000 cases of sexual violence against children in just the first nine months of 2025, with the majority occurring in North and South Kivu provinces where M23 controls significant territory. The cumulative effect of years of conflict has displaced nearly two million people from South Kivu alone, all seeking safety from the ongoing violence. The HRW investigation into Uvira offers the first detailed accounting of what happens when a city falls under M23 control—and the answer is unrelenting brutality against those who cannot escape.
Notable Quotes
They shot my neighbour first in the head— Uvira resident interviewed by Human Rights Watch
I wasn't hit so I just ran to the lake. I saw my brother, his wife, and two of his children fall— Another Uvira resident interviewed by Human Rights Watch
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that this happened in Uvira specifically, rather than somewhere else in the region?
Uvira is a gateway. It sits on Lake Tanganyika and controls access to Burundi, which is aligned with the Congo government. If you hold Uvira, you control movement and supply lines. That's why it was worth fighting for, and why the occupation was so violent—the rebels needed to break resistance quickly.
The Trump peace deal happened just days before the capture. Was that a coincidence?
The timing is striking. A ceasefire agreement gets signed, and within days M23 takes a major city. It suggests either the agreement was never going to hold, or that one side used the diplomatic moment as cover to seize territory while attention was elsewhere.
Rwanda keeps denying involvement. Why does that matter if everyone knows they're involved?
Because denial is a form of protection. If Rwanda officially admits soldiers are there, it becomes an international incident—potential sanctions, ICC involvement, diplomatic isolation. Denial lets them maintain plausible deniability while their forces operate on the ground.
The report mentions mass graves at sites previously controlled by UN peacekeepers. What does that tell us?
It suggests the violence happened in plain sight, in places where international observers were supposed to be present. Either the peacekeepers couldn't stop it, or they weren't there when it mattered. Either way, it's a failure of protection.
Over 35,000 child sexual violence cases in nine months—how do you even document that?
You don't, fully. That number comes from reported cases, health facilities, NGOs on the ground. The actual number is almost certainly higher. Many survivors never report. Many never reach a clinic. That figure is a floor, not a ceiling.
What happens to the people who did this?
That's the open question. HRW has documented it. They've sent it to authorities. But accountability in eastern Congo is rare. The conflict is ongoing, the perpetrators are still armed, and the international will to prosecute is weak.