Amnesty International has accused the M23 rebels in eastern Congo of committing abuses and unlawful killings of miners while trafficking critical minerals to neighboring Rwanda, acts that may constitute war crimes, the organization said.
The rebels, backed by Rwanda, control dozens of artisanal mines across Congo’s eastern North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, where tens of thousands of miners extract minerals essential for global electronics, such as mobile phones.
In its report released on Monday, Amnesty International said it interviewed 26 witnesses to document crimes allegedly committed between January 2025 and March 2026, focusing on a coltan mine near Rubaya in North Kivu and a gold mine in Lomera, South Kivu.
Sixteen of the interviewees, comprising miners and civilians, reported being tortured or mistreated by M23 rebels or security personnel at the rebel‑controlled mines, according to the report.
The rights group documented abuses that likely amount to violations of international law, including summary killings, torture, arbitrary detention, forced labor, and pillage.
The report detailed the murders of 18 artisanal miners at the Rubaya and Lomera sites. Witnesses and family members recounted that ten were beaten to death, two were shot, and six abducted miners were later discovered dead.
Amnesty International also found evidence that gold was being trafficked from M23‑controlled areas of eastern Congo into neighboring Rwanda via smuggling routes.
Neither the M23 rebels nor Rwandan authorities responded to requests for comment at the time of the report.
United Nations experts, the United States, and the Congolese government have previously accused Rwanda of profiting from Congo’s minerals in exchange for supporting the rebels, a claim Rwanda denies.
Eastern Congo, a mineral‑rich region of the Central African nation, has endured decades of violence from government forces and various armed groups, including M23. The group’s recent resurgence has intensified the conflict, exacerbating an already severe humanitarian crisis.
The Rubaya mine, a major coltan site, has suffered numerous catastrophes, including a March collapse that claimed at least 200 lives and a January landslide that killed around 200 people.
Last year, a collapse at the Lomera gold mine trapped many miners.
Last year, Congo produced over half of the world’s tantalum—an ore derived from coltan used in smartphones and other devices—with the Rubaya mine accounting for roughly 15% of global output, Amnesty International reported.
The country also exported more than 28 tons of gold that year, the group said.