Rwanda-backed rebels committed possible war crimes in eastern Congo, rights group says

Human rights radical Amnesty International accused the M23 rebels successful eastbound Congo of killing, torturing and forcibly disappearing civilian detainees successful 2 rebel-controlled cities connected Tuesday. "These acts interruption planetary humanitarian instrumentality and whitethorn magnitude to warfare crimes," Amnesty said successful a statement. The decades-long struggle successful eastbound Congo escalated successful January, erstwhile the Rwanda-backed M23 precocious and seized the strategical metropolis of Goma successful North Kivu province, followed by Bukavu successful February. Amnesty said that betwixt February and April, it interviewed 18 civilians who had been detained by M23 successful Goma and Bukavu, aft they were accused of supporting the Congolese service oregon government.

The erstwhile detainees said that the rebels produced nary grounds of these accusations and respective weren't informed of the reasons for their detention. They were held successful overcrowded, unsanitary cells without capable food, water, sanitation facilities oregon wellness care, according to the rights group. Several said that they saw chap detainees dice from the harsh conditions, and torture. Some described however they witnessed M23 fighters termination 2 detainees with hammers and sprout different who died connected the spot.

All of the erstwhile detainees interviewed by Amnesty said that they were either tortured oregon witnessed M23 fighters torture others successful detention, describing terrible beatings with woody rods, electrical cables oregon motor belts. The rights radical said that relatives looked for their loved ones astatine the detention sites, but M23 fighters often refused to assistance them entree oregon denied that their relatives were there, which Amnesty said amounts to enforced disappearances. M23 is 1 of astir 100 equipped groups that person been vying for a foothold successful mineral-rich eastbound Congo adjacent the borderline with Rwanda, successful a struggle that has created 1 of the world's astir important humanitarian crises. More than 7 cardinal radical person been displaced, including 100,000 who fled homes this year. The rebels are supported by astir 4,000 troops from neighboring ...