(Kinshasa) – The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group’s sudden withdrawal from the city of Uvira in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on January 17, 2026, has put civilians at grave risk from abusive Wazalendo militias, Human Rights Watch said today.
After the M23 and Rwandan forces captured Uvira on December 10, M23 forces threatened, harassed, and assaulted people in the city. Fears that the Banyamulenge, Congolese Tutsi from South Kivu province, would be targeted after the M23’s withdrawal led many families to leave the city together with the armed group, though an unknown number remain. Late on January 18, the Congolese army deployed in the city, the second largest in South Kivu. The Wazalendo, loosely organized militias that receive Congolese army support, have a history of committing abuses against people in areas under their control.
“The mere presence of Congolese forces won’t be enough to protect civilians from the Wazalendo if they continue to assist or tolerate the abusive militias,” said Clémentine de Montjoye, senior Great Lakes researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Congolese authorities should act quickly to restore security and ensure the protection of all civilians, including the Banyamulenge.”
Human Rights Watch documented widespread looting, following the M23’s withdrawal, of homes, shops, churches, and public buildings, including those belonging to the Banyamulenge, through witness accounts and verified photographs and videos. Human Rights Watch geolocated videos showing unidentified people in civilian clothes looting the city courthouse, a Methodist church used by the Banyamulenge community, a restaurant, a government office building, and the city’s port of Kalundu. Sources in Uvira reported scores of people injured, and Human Rights Watch is investigating reports of killings of civilians since the M23 withdrew from the city. “We are worried about our security,” said an Uvira resident, who had earlier been threatened by the M23. “Now, there are cases of soldiers or Wazalendo going around asking for people’s phones and shooting at them.”
Human Rights Watch reviewed credible information that Wazalendo militias prevented people from fleeing towards the Hauts Plateaux—highlands covering parts of Fizi, Mwenga, and Uvira territories in South Kivu—raising concerns about safe passage for civilians after the M23’s withdrawal. These concerns were heightened by the continued closure of the border with Burundi.
During the M23’s control of Uvira since December, its fighters have threatened and harassed people deemed to oppose them. Local civil society sources and residents reported multiple cases of killings, enforced disappearances, and forced recruitment by the M23 in the month they controlled the city. Throughout 2025, Congolese soldiers and Wazalendo fighters summarily executed and committed sexual violence against civilians in South Kivu. Wazalendo fighters also harassed, threatened, abducted, and restricted access to basic services for the Banyamulenge when they controlled Uvira in 2025.
The M23 and Rwandan officials have repeatedly invoked the safety of the Banyamulenge to justify their actions in South Kivu. They have also threatened members of the Banyamulenge community who do not align with them, two community leaders said.
On January 17, Banyamulenge community leaders in Uvira held a meeting and said that they had received instructions from the M23 that Banyamulenge people should leave with them or face reprisal attacks by Wazalendo groups, two community leaders and a community member said. Two Banyamulenge among those who left with M23 said a group remained in Kamanyola, a town under M23 control, and it is unclear where they would go next. Congolese Defense Minister Guy Kabombo Muadiamvita, in a meeting with Human Rights Watch on January 20, said that “the Banyamulenge should not be forcibly displaced or deported, and should feel free to return to Uvira if they wish to do so.”
On January 19, the Congolese government announced a “progressive restoration of state authority” in Uvira, including “security, justice and humanitarian measures.” President Félix Tshisekedi and other Congolese authorities should publicly call for the protection of the Banyamulenge and other civilians in Uvira and urge Wazalendo leaders to leave the city and prevent further abuses by Wazalendo militias. Congolese authorities and donors should ensure that adequate financial assistance promptly reaches those affected by the looting and destruction of property.
While the Congolese government has repeatedly stated that Wazalendo groups assist national efforts to resist Rwandan forces and the M23, their actions in Uvira and elsewhere in North and South Kivu highlight the grave dangers posed by militias operating without effective command, discipline, or accountability. The government should ensure adequately vetted and trained security forces are deployed to restore security and protect the population. Civilian and military justice officials should undertake prompt, impartial investigations and fair prosecutions of those responsible for criminal offenses.
In a January 15 statement, the M23 and its political-military coalition, the Alliance Fleuve Congo, stated that they were ready to hand over Uvira to “the International Community” and asked the United Nations secretary-general to deploy a “neutral force.” The UN peacekeeping force in Congo, MONUSCO, completely disengaged from the province on June 30, 2024, but a December 2025 UN Security Council resolution allows for it to resume some level of “ceasefire monitoring and verification” in South Kivu upon determination by the mission and formal notification of the council.
MONUSCO should rapidly deploy human rights and civilian protection experts to Uvira and work with authorities to carry out a risk assessment and vetting of Congolese army units present on the ground, Human Rights Watch said.
The European Union, African Union, and United States should increase humanitarian assistance and press the governments of Burundi, Congo, and Rwanda to prioritize protecting civilians, ensure access by humanitarian agencies, and provide safe passage for civilians seeking to flee the conflict. The US, United Kingdom, the EU, and the UN Security Council should urgently adopt new targeted sanctions against Congolese and Rwandan officials responsible for, or complicit in, violations of international law.
“The M23’s attempt to portray their control of Uvira as the only way to ensure the safety of the Banyamulenge community appears to have exposed civilians to further violence and abuse,” de Montjoye said. “Congolese authorities should deploy well-trained, vetted security forces, disarm and remove abusive militia, and apprehend those found responsible for crimes against civilians.”
