M23 rebels compel thousands into forced mining and smuggle minerals to Rwanda

Amnesty International released a report accusing the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group of imposing forced labor on thousands of civilians at mining operations around Rubaya in North Kivu and Lomera in South Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The militia is alleged to be extracting valuable minerals such as coltan and gold and smuggling them across the border into Rwanda, generating illegal profit. The organization interviewed 26 individuals, including miners, mining experts, mine owners and relatives of victims, and examined visual evidence.

Findings document 18 miner deaths—ten from beatings and two from gunshots—alongside reports of torture, arbitrary detention and other abuses that could amount to war crimes. M23 representatives and the Rwandan government declined to comment on the allegations. Amnesty’s secretary general, Agnès Callamard, called for international actors to end their silence and hold perpetrators, including Rwandan officials, accountable.