AFC/M23 writes to UN Secretary-General over atrocities in eastern DR Congo
The AFC/M23 movement has written an open letter to the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, urging him to acknowledge the “serious crimes” being committed in DR Congo by the government.
The letter, dated September 19 and signed by the movement’s political coordinator Corneille Nanga, was addressed to the UN chief and shared by the local media on September 24.
In it, the AFC/M23 condemned Kinshasa of running a “malicious campaign” designed to obscure accountability through false narratives.
The movement explained that the purpose of the letter was to draw the Secretary-General’s attention to the ongoing campaign by the Congolese government to promote false narrative regarding the serious crimes taking place in the country to avoid accountability and justice.
According to the movement, Over the past several years, the AFC/M23 along with other actors, including UN bodies, have been sounding an alarm on killings, ethnic cleansing, public lynching, and mass atrocities committed in DR Congo by government-sponsored militias and members of armed forces.
Despite the Congolese government having been urged to stop these crimes and to bringing the perpetrators to justice, the movement stressed that “Not only has the Congolese government ignored the alarms, downplayed the magnitude of these crimes, it has even supported and funded the perpetrators such as Mai Mai and CODECO militias.”
The call comes as the 80th UN General Assembly unfolds in New York, from September 23 to 29, where global leaders are discussing peace, security, conflict resolution, hate speech, and atrocity prevention.
Eastern DR Congo has long endured a crisis fuelled by ethnic ideologies, with the Congolese-backed FDLR, a Rwandan genocidal militia at its core. The group has consistently targeted Tutsi communities, particularly the Banyamulenge, after exporting genocide ideology into DR Congo following its defeat by RPA-Inkotanyi in 1994.
Banyamulenge have often been persecuted under the false label of being Rwandan, despite having lived in eastern DR Congo since the colonial-era border redraws by the Belgians.
Today, the FDLR continues to commit atrocities in the region with the support of the Congolese government, aided by mercenaries, Burundian forces, and armed militias such as Wazalendo and Mai Mai.
Since early 2025, AFC/M23 captured several key cities in the east, citing President Felix Tshisekedi’s promotion of divisionism, state failure, illegitimate leadership, and poor governance as reasons for its advance.
The rebels have consistently denounced ongoing atrocities against Tutsi communities and the silence of both national and international actors who have largely ignored the region’s desperate pleas.
Although peace talks have been launched with the support of regional and international stakeholders, the rebels insist that attacks against civilian populations continue.
“As we are writing this letter, several hundred people from the Banyamulenge-Tutsi ethnic group are under blockade in the Minembwe area and can't access food, water and medicine. Government forces, Wazalendo militias and members of the Burundian army have surrounded Minembwe, and have been launching attacks on Banyamulenge civilians for several months,” the letter stated.
“Multiple deaths of children and women have been recorded. In the city of Uvira, for the last few weeks, government-supported militias launched attacks and persecution of Banyamulenge, publicly calling for their killing and forced displacement.”
The movement stated that the ongoing attacks against the Banyamulenge are part of a broad and systematic campaign aimed at uprooting, killing, and destroying targeted groups, mainly the Tutsi in North Kivu, the Banyamulenge in South Kivu, and the Hema in Ituri.
“Hate speech targeting these ethnic groups is being promoted, including by high-level government officials. These crimes are carried out by government armed forces and allied militias, as reported by several sources, including independent non-governmental organizations and UN staff. Despite numerous complaints filed by victims’ lawyers in DRC courts, the government has failed to investigate a single case in years,” the statement read.
The AFC/M23 further noted “It is deeply concerning and disingenuous that the Congolese government continues to promote a false narrative to bury the truth about these crimes and avoid accountability. Events such as the one organized on September 22 at Jay Conference in New York, following a similar one last week on the sidelines of the 60th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, are part of a deliberate plan to create confusion, misrepresent facts, and deflect from the pursuit of justice.”
The movement urged the government to demonstrate genuine concern for justice by prosecuting perpetrators of these crimes before DR Congo courts. “Those criminals are freely walking the streets of Congolese cities and mingling with government officials,” it added.
Reiterating its position, the movement said it strongly supports genuine initiatives aimed at stabilising DR Congo and bringing justice to victims of serious and mass crimes. However, it emphasized that “the narrative propagated by the Congolese government is an insult to the real victims of genocidal crimes still taking place in the country and serves only as political propaganda for the benefit of the current government.”
“We believe events like the one being organized next week (the 80th UN General Assembly) risk silencing the voices of real victims and ignoring accountability for mass atrocities. By failing to present complete and accurate information on crimes taking place in DR Congo, the government’s campaign presents a misleading picture of the conflict, shields perpetrators, and undermines efforts to end impunity,” the statement continued.
