V. Abuses by the Congolese Army and Other Forces

Congolese civilians desperately seeking protection from the brutal FDLR attacks were cruelly let down. The Congolese army, the FARDC, in joint operations with the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF), in operation Umoja Wetu, and later with the support of MONUC peacekeepers in operation Kimia II, also targeted and committed horrific abuses against civilians. The Congolese army effort drew extensively on units from the former Tutsi-led rebel group, the CNDP, which had been hastily integrated into the army in January and February and had previously fought the FDLR.

During offensive operations, the coalition forces repeatedly accused civilians of collaborating or sympathizing with the FDLR, with horrific consequences. Between January and September 2009, Human Rights Watch documented the deliberate killing of at least 732 civilians, including 143 Rwandan Hutu refugees (see next chapter), by Congolese army forces and their coalition partner. The majority of the victims were women and children.[225] Human Rights Watch also received reports of hundreds of other deaths that we have not yet been able to confirm.

In 2009, the killing of civilians began during the Umoja Wetu operation. At least 201 civilians were killed during this phase of military action, including 90 people massacred in late February in the remote village of Ndorumo and a further 40 in the village of Byarenga, both in North Kivu. The attacks were perpetrated by Rwandan and Congolese coalition forces, although witnesses found it difficult to distinguish between Rwandan army soldiers and former CNDP soldiers newly integrated into the Congolese army, as they wore similar uniforms and spoke the same language.

During the Kimia II operations, the killing of civilians by government forces got worse. Human Rights Watch has collected testimony relating to the killing of 388 Congolese civilians between March and September 2009 by Congolese army soldiers, often former CNDP soldiers. Many of the killings took place in the area between Nyabiondo and Pinga, bordering Masisi and Walikale territories, in North Kivu province. This remote area, where Congolese government authority has been sorely lacking, had long been a political and military stronghold of the FDLR. It was also home to the Patriotic Alliance for a Free and Sovereign Congo (Alliance des patriotes pour un Congo libre et souverain, APCLS) militia, a primarily Hunde armed group led by self-appointed General Janvier Buingo Karairi, allied to the FDLR. Apart from these armed groups, the area was also populated with thousands of local inhabitants, as well as displaced people and refugees who had fled there from other zones of conflict.

Human Rights Watch has received reports, including lists with names of victims, of an additional 476 civilians allegedly killed by Congolese army soldiers and their allies in the area between Nyabiondo and Pinga, including 90 killed during Umoja Wetu and 386 killed during Kimia II. However, due to the remoteness of the area, Human Rights Watch has not to date been able to confirm whether they were caught in the crossfire or were deliberately killed. These numbers have not been included in our figure of 732 deliberate killings by government forces.

In addition to the area between Nyabiondo and Pinga, Human Rights Watch also documented killings by Congolese army soldiers in Masisi, Walikale, Lubero, Rutshuru, Kalehe, Shabunda, and Walungu territories of North and South Kivu.

During both Umoja Wetu and Kimia II operations, Congolese and coalition forces violated their obligations under the laws of war to minimize harm to civilians. They failed to distinguish civilians from combatants and targeted the former, failed to treat humanely persons under their control, did not give effective advance warning of attack when circumstances permitted, and made no efforts to permit civilians caught up in the fighting to flee to safety. While some civilians may have been caught in the crossfire during military confrontations with the FDLR, the cases documented by Human Rights Watch in this report are those where civilians were deliberately targeted or summarily executed.

The Congolese army and coalition forces appeared to consider civilians who had lived in close proximity to the FDLR for many years as “sympathizers” or “collaborators” with the FDLR and who deserved “punishment.” In numerous accounts collected by Human Rights Watch, Congolese army soldiers reportedly told civilians variations of: “Since you collaborated with the FDLR, we will punish you.”[226] Dozens of victims and witnesses said to Human Rights Watch that at the time of the attacks, there were few or no FDLR combatants or their allies present. In the vast majority of cases, the combatants had temporarily retreated or fled into the forests in advance of government or coalition soldiers arriving.

Some of the killings were extraordinarily vicious. Victims had limbs severed, and some of the bodies were chopped into pieces almost beyond recognition. Many of the victims were killed by machetes or knives; others were stabbed to death with a bayonet or were clubbed to death by large wooden sticks. Some were shot dead at close range while trying to flee.

Alongside the killings, thousands of women and girls were raped. In North Kivu, in 349 of the 639 sexual violence cases documented by Human Rights Watch, the victim or other witnesses clearly identified the perpetrators as government soldiers.[227] In at least 15 cases documented by Human Rights Watch, Congolese army soldiers summarily executed the women and girls they had raped. Family members, including husbands, children and parents who tried to stop the rape of their loved ones, were also targeted, and at least 20 were killed when they cried out or otherwise protested the violence.

Hundreds of civilians were pressed into forced labor by Congolese army soldiers to carry ammunition or other baggage, or to fetch water and firewood. Some were killed when they refused; others died because the loads they were forced to carry were too heavy. The violence against civilians was often accompanied by widespread looting and the wanton destruction of homes, schools, and other structures, leaving victims with no hope for the future.

Massacres and Killing of Civilians during Operation Umoja Wetu

Rwandan army soldiers entered Congo in late January 2009 and joined Congolese army units in operation Umoja Wetu against the FDLR. The five-week operation was jointly commanded by Rwandan and Congolese army officers based in Goma, North Kivu, and the neighboring border town of Gisenyi, Rwanda. In some locations coalition soldiers were well-behaved. Congolese civilians reported that Rwandan troops, in particular, paid for the food they bought from local people while on operations and made a deliberate effort to maintain good relations.[228] But such good behavior was not repeated everywhere. In a number of areas, coalition forces were responsible for the targeted killing of civilians, rape, arbitrary arrests, and the destruction of homes. According to Human Rights Watch research, at least 201 civilians were killed by coalition forces during operation Umoja Wetu.

Human Rights Watch documented the massacres of civilians by coalition forces in Ndorumo and Kinyumba villages in Masisi territory, and in Byarenga and Langira villages in Walikale territory. Human Rights Watch also documented the killings of civilians in other villages including in Ibondo, Maniema, Muirya, Bwambira, and Kailenge in Walikale territory; in Matanda and Chirundo, Masisi territory; and in Kitcho village, Lubero territory.

Victims and witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch found it difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish Rwandan army soldiers from former CNDP combatants recently integrated into the Congolese army who played an important role in the operation. The soldiers of both armies often wore identical camouflage uniforms, many were Tutsi, and spoke Kinyarwanda (the main language of Rwanda). Rwandan army soldiers did have a small Rwandan flag on the upper sleeve of their uniforms, but this was not always easy to spot. In some cases former CNDP combatants had the same army uniforms though they usually removed the Rwandan flag.[229] A significant number of CNDP combatants were in fact former Rwandan army soldiers or were Rwandan citizens who had been recruited into the CNDP in 2007 and 2008.[230] In most cases witnesses simply identified their attackers as “Tutsi soldiers” in camouflage uniforms.

The responsibility for investigating the human rights abuses committed by coalition forces, some of which are described below, and to determine who was involved, is ultimately the responsibility of the Congolese government, which invited Rwandan troops to participate in the joint operations and on whose territory the abuses were committed. The Rwandan government should provide full support to such investigations and commit to holding to account any of their soldiers who may have participated in the war crimes.

 

Ndorumo massacre

In late February, Rwandan and Congolese soldiers arrived in Ndorumo, Masisi territory, a remote village nestled among the forested hills largely made up of ethnic Hunde, with a small minority of Hutu. The coalition soldiers set up a military position at the local primary school and told the population not to be frightened since they were government soldiers who had come to bring peace. The APCLS militia, an ally of the FDLR, had a military position in Lukweti, a few kilometers from Ndorumo, but according to witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch, there were no APCLS or FDLR combatants present in Ndorumo the day the coalition forces arrived.[231]

Within just two hours of their arrival, the coalition forces called a meeting at the local school, but as people gathered they began to shoot and kill civilians. There was no military combat in the village, nor did the FDLR or APCLS militia attack the coalition forces. Instead the coalition forces randomly and without warning began to attack local civilians who they accused of collaborating with the FDLR. A local chief told Human Rights Watch:

The soldiers arrived at the school and said they wanted to meet with the population. Some civilians had already gathered in the classrooms when they instead started killing us. They said we were being punished for being complicit with the FDLR, but there weren’t even FDLR in our village when they attacked.[232]

During a two-day killing spree, coalition soldiers killed some 90 civilians in and around Ndorumo village, sending a stark warning that civilians would be punished for their perceived support of the FDLR and its allies. The victims included 30 women, four children and eight elderly men.

A woman whose husband, father-in-law, and sister-in-law were killed during the attack described what happened:

When the Tutsi soldiers came to our village, they said that peace had arrived. But then they started killing us. My husband was shot in the head while I was with him. His whole skull shattered into several pieces. My father-in-law was shot in his side. They cut my sister-in-law into pieces with a machete. They put the pieces together in different piles. That’s what I found when we went to look for her. It’s hard to know how many were killed in total, but every family has their own story.[233]

According to witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch, coalition soldiers also killed a 20-year-old female student, who was studying at her home, by chopping her to pieces with a machete. They tied a 40-year-old woman’s hands behind her back, shot her in the breast, and then threw her body in the river. Coalition soldiers cut to pieces a 70-year-old man with a machete and battered to death a 54-year-old man with a club. They cut off the hand and decapitated a 50-year-old man they found at his farm, and then left with both the head and the hand. As they attacked civilians they repeatedly accused them of collaborating with the FDLR or their APCLS allies.[234]

After two days of brutality, the coalition soldiers left Ndorumo. Villagers who had survived the attacks by fleeing to neighboring villages or hiding in the surrounding forests returned to bury the dead. A local authority told Human Rights Watch he participated in the burial of 90 civilians.[235] He reported that the victims were all civilians and did not include any FDLR or APCLS combatants. Many of the victims had been shot in the head, indicating they may have been summarily executed. Others were killed by machetes. He believed an additional 30 civilians may have been killed in the forests surrounding Ndorumo, but their bodies were never found.[236]

Byarenga massacre

In February, coalition forces attacked civilians in Byarenga village in the Mutongo area of Walikale territory. FDLR and APCLS combatants who were present in the village during the attack reportedly put up some resistance before they fled, leaving the civilian population behind. The coalition soldiers deliberately attacked civilians. According to a witness interviewed by Human Rights Watch, a coalition soldier told the local population, “We will exterminate all of you because it’s you who guard the FDLR.”[237]

At least 40 civilians were killed, the majority women, children and the elderly. Most were killed by machetes or knives, others were stabbed to death with bayonets, and some were shot dead while trying to flee. The coalition forces stayed in Byarenga for four days. According to a local chief who participated in the burials after the coalition forces had departed, the victims included 11 women, nine children, and 20 men. According to witnesses, coalition soldiers also raped 10 women during the attack. Before leaving the village, the coalition soldiers burned the primary school, and destroyed at least 10 houses, including the home of the customary chief.[238]

Other killings

Coalition forces also killed scores of civilians in smaller attacks or individual incidents where they accused civilians of being FDLR combatants, even when they carried no weapons, or of collaborating with the FDLR.

In one such incident around January 27, 2009, soldiers beat to death a 25-year-old man and his four-year old daughter from Masiza village, near Bibwe, as they fled fighting in their village. A witness told Human Rights Watch,

We were fleeing... we saw the soldiers just ahead of us. They told us to stop. I ran immediately into the forest. It was a big group of soldiers. They were wearing tache tache [camouflage] uniforms with little flags. The soldiers had radios with big antennas. We were a group of five civilians. My friend and his daughter were captured by the soldiers... They asked my friend, ‘Where are the FDLR?’ He replied that they had already fled. Then another soldier said, ‘No, this one here is an FDLR. We should kill him.’ So they killed my friend and his daughter, by beating them to death with a large stick covered with nails.[239] 

The Rwandan flag on the soldiers’ uniforms indicates that the assailants in this incident may have been Rwandan army soldiers.

In an incident on February 6 in Bunje village, Kalehe territory, coalition soldiers killed a 55-year-old man after gang-raping his wife and tying him up outside the house. His wife told Human Rights Watch:

The soldiers came saying they were going to chase out the FDLR....That night the soldiers arrived at my house and knocked on the door. They only spoke Lingala. I thought peace had arrived, so I opened the door. Then as soon as they entered, they tied up my husband and three of the soldiers raped me. My husband said, ‘We thought peace had arrived. What are you doing?’ Then they took my husband outside and I heard a gunshot. I later realized they had killed him. Another woman in my compound was raped the same night.[240]

The use of Lingala, the most popular language in western Congo, by the attackers in this incident, suggests that the perpetrators were likely soldiers from the Congolese army.

Other Abuses during Operation Umoja Wetu  

Sexual violence

The attacks on civilians by the coalition soldiers during operation Umoja Wetu often included sexual violence against women and girls, and also in at least one case, against a man. Human Rights Watch documented 42 cases of rape by coalition soldiers who were deployed against the FDLR in January and February 2009.

As with other attacks, the perpetrators accused their victims of being wives or supporters of the FDLR. In late January in Remeka, Masisi territory, a 21-year-old woman was raped by two coalition soldiers soon after they arrived in her village. She told Human Rights Watch what happened,

I was in my house preparing the food when the soldiers arrived. It was the morning. They were in camouflage military uniforms, and they spoke Kinyarwanda. They said that I was a wife of the FDLR, even though I'm not. I'm a Congolese Hutu, and I lived in the same village with the FDLR, but to them we were all FDLR wives. They asked me to sleep with them. I refused. Then they started to beat me with a bat and they kicked me. Then they raped me. I was already pregnant and I lost my baby. It was my first pregnancy. Now I can't sleep. My head hurts, my whole body hurts, and I'm always cold.[241]

There appears to have been an increase in cases of male rape since the launch of military operations against the FDLR.[242] However, there are almost no statistics due to the shame and fear associated with male rape in Congo. At least one of those cases occurred during operation Umoja Wetu. On February 20, soldiers raped a 52-year-old man at his home in Murambi, near Ngungu in Masisi territory. According to a rape counselor who later interviewed the victim, he identified his attackers as former CNDP combatants integrated into the Congolese army. The soldiers accused the man of having built his house on a hill that belonged to the Tutsi. First they raped the man’s wife and then killed her by shooting her in the vagina. Then the attackers turned on him, raped him, tied his penis tightly with a cord, and dragged him by the cord through his farm. Three weeks later the victim managed to make it to a rape counseling center seeking help, but he died shortly after as a result of his wounds.[243]

Unlawful destruction of homes and other structures 

Coalition soldiers also engaged in wide-scale and wanton destruction of homes and villages. During operation Umoja Wetu, coalition forces burned at least 1,357 homes in 14 different villages in Lubero, Walikale, and Masisi territories of North Kivu. In most cases, soldiers blamed civilians for having lived with the FDLR or their allies and punished them by burning their homes, sometimes in apparent frustration after they were unable to find the FDLR. The widespread destruction of homes and other civilian structures without a militarily justified reason is a form of collective punishment against the civilian population.

On February 14, 2009, for example, coalition soldiers, retreating from a frontline position and reportedly angry that they had failed to find FDLR members, instead attacked the three neighboring villages of Lushoa, Mashuta, and Numoo, near the border of Walikale and Lubero territories, to “punish” the civilian population for having collaborated or lived with the FDLR. They burned 97 houses and a health center in Lushoa, 63 houses and three classrooms in Mashuta, and 13 houses in Numoo.[244] The next day, on February 15, coalition soldiers burned another 170 houses, a health center, two classrooms, and a school office in the village, Bushalingwa,[245] and 135 houses in neighboring Kishonja village.[246] The destruction of health facilities and schools violates the laws of war and has severely increased the health risks to the population, who in many cases have also lost their homes, and sharply curtailed their children’s education.

Arbitrary arrests, torture and illegal transfers to Rwanda

Human Rights Watch documented the arbitrary arrest in Goma of at least two Congolese Hutu civilians during operation Umoja Wetu, who were taken across the border to Rwanda, where they were held illegally for days or weeks. The detainees were tortured by Rwandan military authorities to force them to confess to being FDLR combatants or sympathizers. Human Rights Watch received credible reports of 23 similar cases.[247]

In interviews with Human Rights Watch, two of these civilians detained at different times and locations described similar practices used. They were initially arrested in Goma by soldiers in Congolese army or police uniforms who later changed into Rwandan army uniforms before transferring the detainees to Rwanda. The change of uniforms and the subsequent detention in Rwanda strongly indicates that those carrying out the arrests were Rwandan officials. In both cases, the detainees were tortured, including by being badly beaten, and reported that other detainees with whom they were held were also beaten.

In one case, on February 13, a 27-year-old Congolese Hutu trader who sold potatoes, charcoal, and maize was arrested in Goma along with three other men and held for 17 days. He said:

I was outside my home in Goma when a FARDC soldier and two policemen stopped and put me in their car, along with three other Hutu civilians. They took us first to Kinyangote, near Buhimba [outside Goma], and then they took us back to a house in Goma near ... the public beach. There they beat me with pieces of wood and [kicked me with] their military boots. I now have scars all over my legs and lower back. They told me that I needed to accept that I’m Rwandan and that I was a member of the FDLR.

At midnight the same night, they made us cross the border to Rwanda...Two of those who had arrested us in Goma switched into Rwandan army camouflage uniforms before taking us across the border. One of them had been wearing a police (PNC) uniform, and the other was in a solid green FARDC uniform... When we got to Rwanda, they took us to Mutobo camp,[248] and we spent the night there.

The next morning, they took us back to Gisenyi where they brought us to a military camp. We spent four days there without eating, and they beat us a lot. They put each of us in little cells. They would put my arms above my head with my wrists chained together, and my legs spread out. Then two soldiers would come and beat me at the same time with a baton from my feet up to my hips. They did this regularly for four days....They kept telling us to say that we’re Rwandan. Once when I said that I was Congolese, a Rwandan major who was there put his pistol in my mouth. I don’t know if he wanted to kill me, but by chance another soldier of a higher rank came and took the pistol from him. Eventually [I was released] and they took me in a military vehicle back to the border. I have no idea why I was targeted, why they arrested me, or why they freed me when they did.[249]

In a separate incident, a 28-year-old Congolese Hutu civilian told a similar story. He too was arrested in Goma on February 13, taken to a house in Goma near the public beach on Lake Kivu where some of the arresting officials changed into Rwandan military uniforms before transferring him across the border to a military camp in Gisenyi, where he was held and regularly beaten until February 26, when he was released. He told Human Rights Watch: “They beat us and tortured us, trying to get us to say we were FDLR. We refused, and then they said, ‘Even if you’re not FDLR, you work with the FDLR.’”[250]

In both of these cases, the detainees said that General James Kaberebe, the Chief of Defense staff of the Rwandan army, who played a leading role in Umoja Wetu, was present at the camp and gave the order to beat the detainees. Other soldiers in the camp had identified the officer as General Kaberebe to the detainees. One former detainee said, “One day James Kabarebe came to meet us. He gave the orders to beat us because we wouldn’t say we were FDLR. When he arrived, he asked me the same questions and wanted me to accept that I’m an FDLR... Then he gave the order to his men to beat us. I heard him give the order.”

Of the 25 cases of arbitrary arrest by the coalition forces involving the illegal transfer of Congolese civilians to Rwanda reported to Human Rights Watch, none of the detainees was ever charged with any offense.[251]

On February 25, 2009, Rwandan soldiers began to withdraw from eastern Congo and in the following days ended the joint Rwandan-Congolese military operation Umoja Wetu. The Rwandan government praised the operation and said it had “seriously weakened” the FDLR and urged the Congolese government to continue its military operations against the FDLR.[252] 

Massacres and Killings during Kimia II

On March 2, the Congolese army launched its next phase of operations against the FDLR, called Kimia II, this time with substantial logistical, tactical, and other support from MONUC peacekeepers (see below).[253] Despite MONUC’s mandate under UN Security Council Resolution 1856 to help protect civilians[254] and the insistence of UN officials that their support of the operations would help to decrease any harm to civilians, this phase of military operations was even more deadly to civilians than operation Umoja Wetu.

Human Rights Watch has documented the deliberate killing by Congolese army soldiers of 505 civilians in North and South Kivu since the start of operation Kimia II from March through to September 2009. Many of the killings occurred in the remote forest region between Nyabiondo and Pinga, on the border between Walikale and Masisi territories. Others were killed by Congolese army soldiers on operations against the FDLR in Masisi, Walikale, Lubero, and Rutshuru territories in North Kivu and Kalehe, Shabunda, and Walungu territories in South Kivu. As previously described, the cases Human Rights Watch has documented do not represent the full scale of killings.

 

Massacres in Nyabiondo-Pinga area

As during the Umoja Wetu operation, the area between Nyabiondo and Pinga was the target of military operations during the Kimia II operations, demonstrating that the FDLR had not been pushed out of this area during operation Umoja Wetu, as had been claimed. As before, civilians paid the price. Although this zone had been attacked by coalition forces in February, FDLR forces and their APCLS militia allies had not been defeated and had simply fled or retreated to the surrounding forests and returned to the villages soon after the coalition forces departed. In March, Congolese army forces, largely drawn from CNDP soldiers newly integrated into the Congolese army, some of whom may have participated in the earlier Umoja Wetu operation, returned to the edges of the area to continue their offensive. The soldiers established military positions surrounding the zone[255] from where they launched dozens of attacks. As before, FDLR and APCLS combatants retreated or fled in the face of the offensive. When Congolese army soldiers arrived into the villages where the combatants had previously been based, they often found only civilians, whom they accused of supporting the FDLR and its allies.

According to dozens of victims and witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch, Congolese army forces deliberately killed at least 270 civilians in this area alone between March 5 and September 29. Victims and witnesses repeatedly identified the perpetrators of these attacks as “Tutsi soldiers” in camouflage uniforms, indicating that they may have been former CNDP soldiers newly integrated into the Congolese army.

Some local authorities speculated that the brutal attacks may in part have been motivated by long-standing land disputes and ethnic hostilities, and that the primarily Tutsi former CNDP soldiers were seeking to empty the area of its primarily Hunde[256] inhabitants to prepare the way for the return of Congolese Tutsi refugees residing in refugee camps in Rwanda (see below).[257] Others speculated that the soldiers may have been interested in gaining control over the rich mineral resources found in this region, including gold, diamonds, and cassiterite (tin ore).[258]

Very little information about the wide-scale brutalities has come out of this area. MONUC has a peacekeeping base at Nyabiondo, but at the time of writing did not regularly patrol further north than Lwibo, in part because the area is controlled by the FDLR and its APCLS allies who view the peacekeepers as enemies, since they support Congolese army operations. Fearing possible attack, and also due to poor road conditions that permit only foot patrols, MONUC has not regularly patrolled past Lwibo, the last Congolese army position north of Nyabiondo.[259] The fear of being attacked by Congolese army soldiers along the 10-kilometer stretch of road between Lwibo and Nyabiondo has restricted population movement and thereby significantly limited information flows.

Mashango massacre

One of the deadliest attacks by Congolese army soldiers occurred in early August at Mashango hill, just east of the town of Lwibo. During the course of the day, Congolese army soldiers killed at least 81 civilians as they attacked in quick succession five hamlets within a few kilometers of each other around the hill. According to witnesses, only one of the hamlets, Buboa, housed a number of APCLS combatants. The other four hamlets—Mashango, Bubangi, Butsindo, and Katanda—housed only civilians. The attacking soldiers made no distinction between the two and killed civilians by decapitating them, chopping some victims with a machete, clubbing others to death or shooting them as they tried to flee.[260] The victims included 30 women, 12 children, and five elderly men.

A woman who survived the attack described to Human Rights Watch what happened,

We were in our homes in Mashango when the [soldiers] arrived. They started shooting and we all fled into the forest. A 60-year-old man in the same group with me was shot dead while we were fleeing. I also saw the soldiers kill a 14-year-old boy and a 12-year-old boy while they were trying to flee. When we got here [Lukweti], I realized that my husband had also been killed during the attack. There were no Mai Mai or APCLS combatants in our village. The soldiers only came to attack us, the civilians.[261]

In Katanda hamlet, the last one attacked during the offensive, Congolese army soldiers decapitated four young men, cut off their arms, and then threw their heads and limbs 20 meters away from their bodies.[262] They also raped 16 women and girls, including a 12-year-old girl. They later killed four of the women and girls.[263]

Ndorumo massacre

On around August 15, Congolese army soldiers again attacked Ndorumo village (see above for the first attack). The attack followed a failed offensive against APCLS militia earlier that day in Lukweti, a few kilometers from Ndorumo. The consequences were again horrific for the civilian population: an estimated 50 civilians were killed including at least 20 women and 3 young boys.[264] As before, witnesses reported that no APCLS combatants were present at the time of the attack. But Congolese army soldiers apparently angry at their earlier failure in Lukweti to defeat the APCLS militia wanted to punish the civilians for their perceived support to their enemies.

One woman lost three of her young children when they were burned to death in their home. She also witnessed her father being killed. She told Human Rights Watch:

The Tutsi soldiers want to exterminate us. They come to attack us in places where there are no combatants or soldiers to provide for our security. When they come, they say they want to push us out of our land so they can occupy it. Some have already come with their cows and are taking over the land just above our village.[265]

Other killings in Nyabiondo-Pinga area

Congolese government soldiers also randomly but repeatedly killed civilians on their way to or from military operations against the FDLR and the APCLS militia. The killings often occurred as army soldiers passed through the villages and towns in the Nyabiondo-Pinga area or as they encountered civilians on the roads and footpaths. The incidents were often short in duration and included soldiers randomly shooting at civilians, beating them, or burning their homes with no advance warning. Human Rights Watch received credible information from local authorities and eyewitnesses about 139 civilians killed in such incidents between March and September 2009. The widespread nature of the killings over a period of many months indicates that Congolese army soldiers perceived the local population of this area as collaborators of the FDLR and APCLS militia and sought to punish them.

For example, in March, the FARDC attacked Lukweti, killing four civilians with no warning and without any attempt to verify if combatants were in the area. As they marched through the village, they randomly set fire to homes and shot those who ran away. A mother whose six-year-old son died during the attack told Human Rights Watch, “The soldiers set fire to our house, and my son burned to death inside. They burned four other houses, and another baby boy burned to death inside one of them as well.” The witness then recounted how soldiers shot and killed a 24-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man as they attempted to flee the area.[266]

Killings along road between Nyabiondo and Lwibo

Congolese army soldiers also targeted civilians on the 10-kilometer stretch of road running northeast between Nyabiondo and Lwibo. Since the start of operation Kimia II in March, at least 83 civilians have been killed and dozens of women and girls raped on this isolated stretch of road.[267] Since March, Congolese army soldiers have controlled the road and established military positions at Nyabiondo, Kinyumba and Lwibo, key villages along this axis.[268] The victims were all civilians coming from APCLS and FDLR-controlled areas north of Lwibo. They were attempting to reach the main market in Nyabiondo to sell their goods or buy essential supplies. According to information received from local authorities and eyewitness accounts, the perpetrators of these killings were Congolese government soldiers who attacked the civilians because of their perceived collaboration with the FDLR and its allies. The Congolese government soldiers also apparently sought to steal the civilians’ goods.[269]

Due to the frequent attacks, many civilians stopped traveling along this road. As a result, the population has suffered from further poverty, a lack of supplies, and greater isolation in an already desolated area. When a Human Rights Watch researcher traveled the road in early October 2009, all villages between Nyabiondo and Lwibo were completely deserted. MONUC peacekeepers carry out some patrols on this road from their base in Nyabiondo, but their presence has not been regular enough to prevent the attacks on civilians.

Local authorities to the area north of Lwibo have been keeping a record of the attacks and killings along the Nyabiondo-Lwibo road. In an interview with Human Rights Watch, they presented detailed information about the deaths of 56 civilians from the village of Misheeshe, who had been killed by FARDC soldiers on the road near the Congolese army’s base at Kinyumba, from March through September.[270] At least 25 civilians from other villages were also killed along the same stretch of road during the same period.[271] Although Human Rights Watch was unable to confirm the circumstances in each of the killings, the information provided by local authorities was consistent with eyewitness accounts that we collected.

In July, Congolese army soldiers near Lwibo decapitated a male civilian who was on his way to the market in Nyabiondo. The soldiers then paraded his head around Nyabiondo, telling the population they had killed an APCLS combatant.[272]

“I’ve never seen the Kimia II soldiers actually track the FDLR,” a local chief in Nyabiondo told Human Rights Watch. “They launch operations in Kinyumba, Lwibo, and Kilambo, but there are no FDLR there. What we see instead is them going after civilians. The whole population is viewed as a member of or complicit with either the FDLR or the APCLS.”[273]

On September 28, a group of young women and girls were on their way to market in Nyabiondo to buy notebooks, pens, and uniforms for the start of the school year. Several of them told Human Rights Watch that the group was abducted while on the road and gang-raped by Congolese army soldiers deployed at Kinyumba. The women and girls were kept overnight. Another group of women and girls was abducted early the next day and also raped. In total, the two groups numbered about 20 young women and girls.

The commander of the APCLS, General Janvier, told Human Rights Watch that because of the continued attacks by the Congolese army on civilians, especially those going to the market, the APCLS militia attacked the FARDC at Kinyumba on the afternoon of September 29.[274]  “People consider us as sub-humans that don’t exist. So we wanted to show them that we have power,” General Janvier said. “The people have the right to go freely to get their provisions.”[275] During the FARDC counter-attack on the APCLS militia, with support from MONUC attack helicopters, some of the abducted women and girls managed to escape, but at least five were killed by FARDC soldiers as they tried to flee, including a 13-year-old.[276]

Motivation for attacks in Nyabiondo-Pinga area

Several local authorities, Congolese army commanders and others told Human Rights Watch that they believed the motivation for the attacks on civilians by former CNDP soldiers integrated into the Congolese army in the Nyabiondo-Pinga area is about control over land and the return of Congolese Tutsi refugees from Rwanda.[277] One former CNDP officer now integrated into the Congolese army told Human Rights Watch that the operations in the Nyabiondo-Pinga area were intended to “kill civilians and terrorize the Hunde and Hutu population” so that the land would be cleared for the return of Congolese Tutsi coming back from Rwanda.[278]

Several thousand Tutsi civilians lived in the mountainous area between Nyabiondo and Pinga[279] including many Tutsi who came to Congo from Rwanda following ethnic pogroms there in 1959.[280] In 1992-93, ethnic clashes erupted between Hutu, Hunde and Tutsi ethnic groups who lived in this area and in other towns and villages in Masisi. The clashes, which were largely about control over land, left thousands dead. Many Tutsi fled the area to seek refuge in other parts of Congo and eventually fled to Rwanda following the arrival into Congo of a large number of Hutu refugees and those responsible for the genocide in Rwanda.

One of the CNDP’s main political objectives is the return of the Congolese Tutsi refugees from Rwanda back to Congo. There are an estimated 44,000 Congolese refugees in official refugee camps in Rwanda, in addition to other unregistered Congolese Tutsi who live in host families or who bought their own land in Rwanda.[281] Some acquired Rwandan citizenship. Many harbored the desire to return to Congo one day.

UNHRC has not yet officially begun the process of returning Congolese Tutsi refugees from Rwanda back to Congo, deeming the situation too insecure. Yet between April and November 2009, several thousand refugees and possibly other Rwandan citizens crossed the border to Congo, the majority since August.[282] On November 16, 2009, Human Rights Watch witnessed an estimated 90 civilians who had crossed the border from Rwanda into Congo at Kibumba (27 kilometers northeast of Goma) between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m., before the border post officially opened. Once on the Congolese side of the border, the refugees boarded mini-buses which took them to Kitchanga, Kilolirwe and other locations still considered areas controlled by the CNDP. Some were escorted by Congolese army soldiers who local people said were former CNDP combatants.[283] Upon arrival in Kitchanga, most have settled in a camp for displaced people waiting for the security situation to improve in their villages of origin; for some this is the area between Nyabiondo and Pinga.[284]

It is unclear what has sparked this seemingly sudden population movement. Those interviewed by Human Rights Watch in Kibumba and Kitchanga cited hunger in Rwanda, educational opportunities in Congo, possibilities of accessing their land in Congo, and news of peace and security in eastern Congo as the reasons why they decided to leave Rwanda this year.[285]Yet given that most are still living in camps once they arrive in Congo, it is possible they may have been encouraged to return or they believe there are new opportunities. 

The lack of transparency on the returns process and a formal agreement with UNHCR and the Congolese government to facilitate such returns is fuelling renewed ethnic tension in Masisi. Ongoing military operations in the area are likely to put both the returnees and local populations at risk of further attacks.

Killings in other areas during Kimia II

Congolese army soldiers also killed civilians in other areas where they conducted operations against the FDLR, including in several villages in southern Lubero territory in March and April; in Kalangita village in the Ziralo area, Kalehe territory, on September 27; and in other villages in Rutshuru, Masisi, Walikale, Lubero, Kalehe, Walungu, and Shabunda territories of North and South Kivu (see annex for further details). Killings took place during rape and looting incidents; when the FARDC failed to find FDLR combatants during an operation and instead fired randomly at civilians; when soldiers accused civilians of being collaborators or sympathizers with the enemy; or when civilians collapsed after soldiers forced them to carry loads that were too heavy. Human Rights Watch recorded the deaths of a least 118 civilians in such incidents.

On July 8, the FARDC killed a 33-year-old man and his four-year-old son in Miano, in the Ufumandu area of Masisi territory, when the man tried to protect his wife from being raped. His wife told a rape counselor what happened:

I was in the house when the soldiers came. There were gunshots and I didn't know what to do. They called my husband and asked for $500. They said they would kill him if he didn't give it to them. We only had $200 so we gave them that. They said it wasn't enough, so we gave them two radios and three goats. When they were getting ready to leave, one of them said that I was pretty and he couldn't leave without raping me. When my husband begged him not to rape me, the soldier shot at my husband and the same bullet hit my oldest son. Both of them died. Then he raped me.[286]

On June 30, the Congolese army soldiers killed a two-year-old boy in Lusirantaka, Masisi territory, because he had started to cry when his mother was gang-raped by seven Congolese army soldiers.[287]

In May, in the Bunyakiri area, Kalehe territory, a 40-year-old man was forced to transport goods for the FARDC from Mubongo to Bulambika, but the load was too heavy for him and he collapsed. He later died at a health center.[288] In a similar case also in May, 150 civilians were forced to transport baggage for the Congolese army from Ufumandu to Hombo, a distance of over 50 kilometers. According to witnesses, one of the civilians died on the way because the load was too heavy.[289]

On March 22 in Mubugu, Kalehe territory, the FARDC abducted a local man to serve as their guide and show them the location of nearby FDLR positions. When the man succeeded in leading them to a path used by the FDLR, the soldiers summarily executed him, claiming he must have been an FDLR combatant to know where the position was.[290]

Other Abuses during Kimia II

Sexual violence

Operation Kimia II continued the brutal trend of sexual violence that had begun during operation Umoja Wetu. In North Kivu, in 350 of 527 sexual violence cases documented by Human Rights Watch during Kimia II, the victim or other witnesses clearly identified the perpetrators as Congolese army soldiers. More than half of the victims were gang-raped by two or more soldiers, sometimes by as many as seven or eight. In research conducted by Human Rights Watch, the youngest victim was only three years old, and the oldest was 70 years old. Human Rights Watch documented cases of rape by newly integrated soldiers, including those from the former CNDP and Mai Mai groups, but also by soldiers who were previously in the Congolese army.

The very soldiers tasked to protect Congolese women and girls were instead targeting them, sometimes accusing them of being FDLR wives or supporters.[291] But in many cases, the sexual violence was linked to pillage and looting, whether in the victims’ homes, their farms, or while women and girls were on their way to the market. The government’s failure to pay its soldiers and provide them adequate food rations while on operation contributed to an environment where such violence flourished (see below for further information).[292]

On March 24 in Nyamatovu village, Kalehe territory (South Kivu) Congolese army soldiers looted a home, raping a woman. She told Human Rights Watch:

It was at night. Three soldiers came in with military uniforms and rifles. They knocked their guns on the door and said, ‘If you refuse to let us in, we'll kill you.’ Then they came into the house and said, ‘Get on the bed. You, animal, if you don't do it, we'll kill you.’ When my children heard this, they fled, and until now I don't know where they are. I was raped by two of the soldiers. When the third soldier wanted to, he heard cries outside so they left. The others had already pillaged everything in my house. They were so violent. When they raped me, they said, ‘If you cry, we're going to kill you.’ I was scared of their guns and knew it would be my death if I made any noise.[293]

In Katoyi, Masisi territory, in early July, Congolese army soldiers came to the home of a young pregnant woman. She told a rape counselor: 

I was seven months pregnant and in the house with my husband when the soldiers came in and asked for a casserole dish. We gave them one, but they refused it and said it was too small. My husband said we didn't have a bigger one. When he said that, they started to beat my husband. Then they went into the bedroom and started looting all our goods. When my husband protested, they shot him dead. Then they turned to me and said, 'Look, your husband is dead and we can kill you too.' Then they told me to get down and take my clothes off. They said they didn't have time to touch me but they wanted to see how a baby stays in his mother's stomach. Then they pulled my legs apart and started to rape me. When the blood started to flow, they left me. One of them wanted to cut open my stomach, but the other refused. The next day I lost my baby. It was a boy. I thought I was going to die.[294]

Sometimes women and girls were attacked as a group when on the way to market and raped by government soldiers, often after they pillaged their goods. For example, in Chambombo, in the Ziralo area, six soldiers stopped a group of four women returning from the market in Lumbishi in late March 2009. A woman in the group who was six-months pregnant at the time and later miscarried, told a rape counselor:

While coming back from the market, we met soldiers who had put up a barrier on the road. They asked us each to give them $5. If we didn’t have it, we couldn’t pass. We all had just bought beans, so we didn’t have any money left...They made us put our sacks on the ground and their boss gave the order to the others to take our beans from us. They took the beans and said, ‘We’re going to put our hands in your vaginas to look for money because women always hide money there. Then they started to beat us. There were a lot of them. Each group of soldiers searched one of us. Six soldiers then took each of us into the bush. They started to rape us at 3 p.m., and it continued all night. When they finished the operation in the morning, they shot in the air and left. Because I was pregnant, I started to bleed immediately and lost my child. When my husband found out what happened, he chased me away and said he couldn’t stay with me... So now I am left alone. The soldiers were wearing camouflage uniforms. They were Tutsi and very tall. They’re now integrated into the FARDC.[295]

Congolese army soldiers also abducted women and girls and held them as sexual slaves for weeks or months at a time. A 27-year-old woman raped in mid-April by two soldiers in Bitonga in the Ziralo area and then taken as a sexual slave for a month, told Human Rights Watch:

I was in the farm with nine other women when the soldiers came and raped us. I was raped by two soldiers. They were in military uniforms with guns. They spoke Kinyarwanda, and there was a mix of Hutu and Tutsi. They then took me into the bush with them for one month. During all this time, hour by hour, whoever wanted to, came and had sex with me. We were in a camp in the forest near Bitonga. Every few days they moved to a new location. There were a lot of other women in the camp who had been abducted from different villages. One day they sent me to get firewood, and I took advantage of the opportunity to flee.[296]

Human Rights Watch also documented an increase in rape of men and boys in 2009, mostly by Congolese army soldiers.[297]  In early May, five men and 10 women were raped when Congolese army soldiers attacked Kaseke village, near Mutongo in the Nyabiondo-Pinga area. The men were holding a meeting when their attackers arrived and accused them of being Mai Mai. According to one of the men, who was raped five times by different soldiers, the soldiers who raped them were Tutsi soldiers in green FARDC uniforms who spoke Kinyarwanda and came from the direction of Pinga. Another soldier eventually came and helped the victims flee.[298]In early October 2009, soldiers in Masisi territory raped a man after raping his wife. The rape was so violent that the man died one hour later.[299]

Many victims, health workers and counselors faced retaliation after reporting on sexual violence cases committed by Congolese army soldiers. A 19-year-old woman who complained to the authorities after she was raped by soldiers in Masisi was then attacked and raped a second time.[300] A 14-year-old girl who was raped by a Congolese army officer on the road between Masisi and Loashi in mid-2009 wanted to complain, but before she was able to do so she was arrested by army soldiers and accused of being a spy for the FDLR. When local human rights activists intervened, they received anonymous death threats.[301]

A rape counselor in South Kivu was herself raped in January 2009 by newly integrated CNDP combatants who accused her of denouncing them and reporting on the rapes. They said they knew her name, but not her face and demanded to know if it was her. She tried to give a different name, but the soldiers did not believe her. She was badly beaten and violently raped. The soldiers put a shoe into her vagina and spit at her. Despite the pain and the violence of the rape, and the dangers associated with her work, she told Human Rights Watch that she would not give up. She continues to serve other victims of rape.[302]

Forced labor

Since the start of military operations against the FDLR, Congolese army forces have pressed hundreds of civilians into forced labor to carry their supplies, ammunition, and other equipment to the frontlines. The journeys are long and difficult, and the loads often very heavy. At least two men died after collapsing under loads that were too heavy for them to carry and at least ten others were killed when they refused or were physically unable to lift the load assigned to them. Human Rights Watch researchers were direct witnesses to the forced labor of civilians by Congolese army soldiers in five different locations throughout North and South Kivu during the course of their research.[303]

Civilians have also been abducted to serve as “guides” and show the FARDC soldiers the paths usually taken by the FDLR or their military positions. These civilians risked being punished and beaten either for not knowing where the FDLR may be hiding, or, if they did seem to know where to go, sometimes they have been accused of being an FDLR member or collaborator. Civilians traveling with soldiers as porters or guides also risked falling into ambushes by the FDLR or being targeted later by FDLR combatants who accused them of having “collaborated with” or supported the enemy forces.

In March 2009, 100 men were forced to transport supplies for the FARDC from Kirundu to Busurungi and then to Kibua (Masisi). One man in the group described what happened:

The FARDC there made us transport their baggage all the way from Kirundu to Busurungi and then to Kibua. It took three days. There were over 100 civilians, all men taken from villages along the way to transport their baggage. If you walked slowly, they beat you. They beat me badly several times, and that's why I'm still sick and can't walk well. Some beat me with the butt of their gun and others whipped me on my legs. The soldiers didn't give us food so we had to find what we could in the villages. It was when I was looking for food that I managed to flee. [304]

The same man was twice again pressed into forced labor by army soldiers.

An 18-year-old student from Funguramacho (near Remeka, Ufumandu) had a similar story:

Our soldiers go in front of each house every morning to force all the men to transport their baggage. I've been taken three times, and each time they whipped me badly. The first time was in February. I was taken in Funguramacho and transported baggage to Kibua...There were 12 civilians and we transported 12 boxes of ammunition. If we said we were tired, they beat us and told us to walk faster. There were children among us—five kids from the primary school, some as young as eight, who had to carry the soldiers' children on their backs. The second time I was taken was also in February. They were waiting for us outside my school in Funguramacho. When we came outside, they took us and forced us to carry all the beer for the soldiers to Katahunda. There were two of us...The third time was in May 2009. I was taken at Funguramacho and had to go to Kashovu and then back to Funguramacho. There were four of us, and they made us transport four jerry-cans of whiskey.[305]

Many civilians suffered serious and long-term injuries as a result of the physical beatings and the heavy loads. A 29-year-old man from Remeka, in the Ufumandu area, was stabbed in the eye on May 27, 2009, when he refused to transport baggage. “The doctors say they don't know if I'll see again,” he told Human Rights Watch.[306]

In many areas, Congolese army soldiers also forced civilians to carry out services for them such as collecting firewood and water, or constructing their temporary huts. In some locations the use of civilians for this work led local authorities to bitterly complain that their populations were being used as “slaves.”[307]

Extortion and pillage

Congolese army soldiers deployed on operations against the FDLR systematically pillaged villages, extorted illegal “taxes” from civilians, and looted their goods as they fled combat or traveled to and from the market. The problem of extortion and looting was compounded by the failure to pay soldiers or when salaries were months delayed. Even when salaries were paid, the current wage of $45 per month for a foot soldier is not enough to feed him and his family, making looting and extortion of civilians during military operations almost inevitable. Looting and pillage were part of nearly all attacks on villages by the Congolese army documented by Human Rights Watch during the course of its research in North and South Kivu throughout 2009. The effect on civilian populations already suffering from immense poverty, displacement, and other hardships has been incalculable.

Congolese army soldiers regularly erected roadblocks and other checkpoints where they extorted money from civilians. Sometimes the sole purpose of such a roadblock was to engage in illegal taxation. Former CNDP soldiers newly integrated into the army, often still unpaid and whose ranks had yet to be confirmed, were at the forefront of such extortion. The soldiers erected illegal barricades on important road junctions at Kilolirwe, Kitchanga and Mushake, in Masisi territory (North Kivu), for example, where they demanded payment for passage, especially from trucks required to pay US$100, and sometimes up to US$300, and 20 liters of petrol to pass.[308] In another case in Ngungu, also Masisi territory, civilians were forced to pay 300 Congolese francs (about US$0.38) to enter and exit the twice-weekly markets at Gasake, Remeka, Ngungu, Miano, and Murambi. Traders were required to hand over 5 to 6 kilograms from each sack of consumable merchandise they were carrying such as flour, rice, or beans. The barriers in this area were controlled by Col. Innocent Zimurinda, formerly of the CNDP.[309] 

The extortion increased tensions between the soldiers and the local population and on a number of occasions, MONUC peacekeepers had to intervene. In one incident, at an important road junction on the road near Sake, MONUC peacekeepers fired warning shots in the air to try to force the newly integrated CNDP soldiers to comply with MONUC’s request to immediately remove a barrier, after the soldiers had demanded money from the peacekeepers.[310]

In some areas Congolese army soldiers acted like common criminals to extort money. In Kirumba, Lubero territory, soldiers regularly conducted extortion raids known by local people as “Operation Fenêtre” (“window” in French). Soldiers would arrive at the window of a home, put the barrels of their guns through the window and then demand money. Fearful the soldiers might shoot, local people handed over whatever they could to save themselves. Then the soldiers moved on to the next house.[311]

Arbitrary arrests

Congolese army soldiers arbitrarily arrested civilians whom they accused of being collaborators or sympathizers of the FDLR and detained them without charge for days or weeks, often beating them and demanding payment before they were released. During the course of its research, Human Rights Watch documented over 160 such cases.

In Miriki, Lubero territory, between February 13 and March 7, 2009, just after Congolese army forces arrived in this former FDLR stronghold, they arrested 40 people, including the local police commander, Lubiho Maruho. They were all accused of having collaborated with the FDLR. When the FDLR attacked Miriki on March 7, most of the detainees were able to escape. When the Congolese army soldiers counter-attacked and retook the town, they again arrested Maruho, the police commander, whom they summarily executed for his perceived collaboration with the FDLR.[312]  

A local chief from southern Lubero was arrested on March 9, 2009, by soldiers who accused him of telling the FDLR to attack. He was released when his family members and friends paid over $1,000.[313] A displaced person from Iroba, in the Mubugu area (South Kivu), told Human Rights Watch about the arrest of his mother in April 2009 by Congolese army soldiers after she was accused of being close to the FDLR. She was released only after her son paid the soldiers a goat, a chicken, and $100.[314]

In Mikumbi village, in Walikale territory, several young men were arrested in April and held in underground prisons by soldiers who accused them of having accepted to live with the FDLR. They were freed after the local community paid 27 goats and $1 per prisoner.[315]

Responsibility for the Crimes

As noted above, international humanitarian law applies to all parties to a conflict, including the Congolese and Rwandan armies, who must distinguish between combatants and civilians, not deliberately attack civilians or civilian objects, and treat humanely all persons in their custody. Individuals who willfully commit serious violations of the laws of war, that is deliberately or recklessly, are responsible for war crimes. This includes those who participate in or order war crimes, or are culpable as a matter of command responsibility. States have an obligation to investigate alleged war crimes committed on their territory.

Crimes committed during Umoja Wetu

Operation Umoja Wetu was a joint military operation with Congolese and Rwandan armed forces. Both governments are responsible for investigating the behavior of their troops during the operations, including the massacres committed at Ndorumo and Byarenega documented above, among others. As the alleged violations took place on Congolese territory, the Rwandan government should actively cooperate with Congolese and other judicial investigations into alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed by Rwandan armed forces during operation Umoja Wetu, and provide any information it may have on abuses committed by former CNDP troops. The Rwandan government should also ensure that any commanders or soldiers found responsible are disciplined or prosecuted as appropriate, including as a matter of command responsibility.

The Rwandan government should also order an investigation into the arbitrary arrest, illegal transfer and torture of Congolese citizens in Gisenyi, Rwanda, including the alleged criminal responsibility of Gen. James Kaberebe.

Crimes committed during Kimia II

Responsibility for Nyabiondo-Pinga area killings

The attacks in the area between Nyabiondo and Pinga were largely commanded by former CNDP officers operating under the command of the 2nd Operational Zone of North Kivu (a designated military zone where operations were being conducted), whose headquarters was in Mushake (Masisi territory). The overall commander of the 2nd Operational Zone at the time of the attacks was Col. Bernard Biamungu. Each operational zone is designated into sectors and the 21st and 22nd Sectors were involved in the military operations that carried out attacks on civilians. According to Congolese army commanders interviewed by Human Rights Watch and local authorities in the area, the units responsible for the attacks in the area between Nyabiondo and Pinga attacked from Congolese army military positions at Lwibo, Kinyumba, Kinyana, Kivuye, Miaandja, Pinga, and Kitchanga, all locations under the control of the 21st and 22nd Sectors.[316]

As in other locations in North and South Kivu, officers in these sectors have been frequently moved around, tactics that may be deliberate to make it difficult to identify command responsibility. Based on information received from Congolese army commanders, local authorities and witnesses, the following Congolese army commanders should be investigated for ordering alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Congolese soldiers in the Nyabiondo-Pinga area, and as a matter of command responsibility:

• Col. Innocent Kabundi, a former CNDP officer who was commander of the 22nd Sector based in Kitchanga from February through June 2009.[317]
• Col. Innocent Kahina, also known as “India Queen,” commander of the 22nd Sector based in Kitchanga since around August 2009. Colonel Kahina was released from prison in Kinshasa in early 2009, apparently for health reasons, where he was awaiting trial for alleged crimes against humanity committed in Ituri, northeastern Congo.[318]
• Lt. Col. Salongo Ndekezi, deputy commander of the 21st Sector based in Katale. Colonel Salongo was previously a commander of an armed group in Ituri where he participated in massacres on an ethnic basis in Mongbwalu amongst other locations. He joined the CNDP along with Bosco Ntaganda in 2006 or 2007.[319]
• Lt. Col. Ngabo Alphonse, a former CNDP officer and commander of the 213th Brigade based north of Nyabiondo under the command of the 21st Sector.[320]

Others in chain of command

Other senior officers not present during the attacks in the Nyabiondo and Pinga area, as well as in other locations, should also be investigated for their role in alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

According to informed sources with knowledge of the chain of command in the Congolese army, Gen. Bosco Ntaganda, the de facto deputy commander of Operation Kimia II, and the most senior former CNDP officer, gave the order for military operations to proceed in the area between Nyabiondo and Pinga.[321] The majority of the commanders who participated in the operation were former CNDP and retained a direct link to General Ntaganda.

According to the same sources, Col. Bobo Kakudji, the North Kivu commander for Operation Kimia II, and General Amuli, the overall commander of Kimia II, had little control over commanders in this area, had not approved the operations, and may not even have been aware of them when they first began.[322] While there is no evidence that links these two officers to the crimes, as the two most senior military commanders in North Kivu, they should ensure that judicial investigations are promptly carried out and those responsible held to account.

In November 2008, the government established and sent a special military tribunal, called the Military Operational Court (cour militaire opérationnelle) to prosecute crimes committed by its soldiers in the context of military operations. Between January and September 2009, 35 army soldiers and officers, including two commanding officers, were tried for crimes related to human rights violations in North Kivu and a further 10 army soldiers in South Kivu.[323] See below for further information.

Human Rights Watch repeatedly met with General Amuli and Colonel Kakudji to inform them about human rights violations documented in this report. On October 22, 2009, following a detailed briefing on the abuses committed in the area between Nyabiondo and Pinga, General Amuli committed to create a small team to work alongside MONUC to identify incidents where the chain of command might have broken down and where incidents were not reported to him. He further agreed to launch a joint verification mission with MONUC to look into the allegations of killings and massacres in the area between Nyabiondo and Pinga.[324] At the time of writing, the investigations had not yet begun.

Human Rights Watch also advocated for investigations into alleged crimes committed in other areas of North and South Kivu by Congolese army soldiers, including crimes of sexual violence.