Congo
Tens of thousands of civilians fled in fear this week as the armed group M23 marched into the eastern Congolese city of Goma – worsening an already dire human rights situation.
Following the city’s fall to the M23 on Tuesday, many more civilians are fleeing and are left with no assistance in an area where they are at significant risk of being caught in crossfire as hostilities intensify.
Amnesty International has documented numerous crimes under international law and other human rights violations committed in the course of fighting between M23 and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) army in recent months.
For the past 15 years, civilians caught up in the conflict have suffered a range of abuses – women and girls in particular have being targeted, with rape and other forms of sexual violence being widely reported.
