UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has released a report detailing the atrocities committed by the FDLR, accusing it of killing, abusing, and looting civilians in eastern DRC.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has released a report detailing the atrocities committed by the FDLR, accusing it of killing, abusing, and looting civilians in eastern DRC. While the Kinshasa government…
NSANZIMANA SylverOct 4, 20264 min read
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has released a report detailing the atrocities committed by the FDLR, accusing it of killing, abusing, and looting civilians in eastern DRC.
While the Kinshasa government recently sent envoys to Togo and Angola claiming that the FDLR had voluntarily disarmed, a new report by the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, reveals a different truth - that this genocidal group continues to kill civilians every day in eastern Congo.
The United Nations Secretary-General's report indicates that the FDLR terrorist group continues to play a significant role in activities that disrupt security in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This report covers events from June 20 to September 18, 2026, and shows that the FDLR was involved in at least 44 acts of insecurity, which affected 89 civilians, including 15 killed, 24 abducted, and others subjected to robbery and torture.
FDLR violence is concentrated in Rutshuru Territory, but is also evident in Masisi, Nyiragongo and Walikale - all areas where M23 claims the FDLR is hiding and used by the FARDC.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has highlighted that FDLR activities have included dispossessing civilians of their property and money, killing them, kidnapping and disappearing leaders suspected of working with the AFC/M23 coalition.
On the night of July 2, 2026, FDLR attacked the Kabizo/Butare area in Bwito Shefere in Rutshuru, killing a local leader named Rugamba, his wife and five of their children. This happened after accusing him of being an accomplice of M23.
AFC/M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka said, "This genocidal group attacked the family of a local leader, Mr. Rugamba, killing his wife and five children, because he refused to give them food and money."
The FDLR has also been accused of forcibly recruiting fighters and raping women and girls. The report says 12 children were forcibly recruited between June and September alone.
Previous reports also indicate that this group continued to commit crimes. In January 2026, it joined forces with the Nyatura CMC and APCLS groups, increasing the number of attacks that killed 31 civilians and forced 4,000 others to flee Kitchanga.
Between March 18 and June 16, FDLR played a 6% role in the security activities in Kivu, carrying out attacks in the outskirts of Rutshuru, and looting residents in the Katwiguru area, stealing 18 motorcycles and 42 cows.
History of the FDLR - Origins:
The FDLR was founded on September 17, 2000 in Lubumbashi, from the ALIR I and II parties. It is made up of ex-FAR and Interahamwe soldiers who fled Rwanda in 1994 after the Genocide against the Tutsi. They were originally called the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda.
The FDLR, which had around 15,000 fighters in 2005, is now believed to have only 1,500-2,500 fighters left after being repeatedly crushed by the Rwandan army. Its top leaders include Maj Gen Gaston Iyamuremye alias Byiringiro and Lt Gen Pacifique Ntawunguka alias Omega, who replaced Ignace Murwanashyaka, who died in a German prison in 2019.
The Lusaka Accords of 1999, Sun City of 2002, and Nairobi of 2007 all called for its eradication but Kinshasa used it as an additional force against Rwanda and M23. MONUSCO and FARDC conducted operations Kimia II and Amani Leo but they did not eradicate it because it was hidden in the Kivu forests.
Its importance in the Washington Accord:* Although the FDLR continues to kill civilians, the DRC army and the Wazalendo groups continue to work with it; together they fight the AFC/M23 alliance. The Washington Accord signed on June 27, 2025 between Kigali and Kinshasa with the support of the USA calls for the complete eradication of the FDLR, and for Rwanda to lift its security measures, but a UN report shows that not a single FDLR fighter has been handed over to Rwanda, but rather it continues to kill.
Tuganire newsroom
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