KIGALI, Rwanda

The Congolese M23 rebel group has killed, tortured and forcibly disappeared detainees, held some as hostages, and subjected them to inhumane conditions at detention sites under their control in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Amnesty International said Tuesday.

Citing its latest investigations, Amnesty International said it interviewed 18 former male civilian detainees between February and April who had been held unlawfully in M23 detention sites in Goma and Bukavu, nine of whom were tortured by M23 fighters.

“M23’s public statements about bringing order to eastern DRC mask their horrific treatment of detainees. They brutally punish those who they believe oppose them and intimidate others, so no one dares to challenge them,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, said in a statement. 

“Regional and international actors must pressure Rwanda to cease its support for M23.”

But Faustin Kashale, an official from the local NGO, the Manzi Foundation, which focuses on human rights advocacy in eastern Congo, said the accusations could be “inaccurate and misleading.”

“There have been attempts to manipulate public opinion with ‘unfounded information’ from different actors,” he told Anadolu.

Amnesty International appealed to M23 to immediately release arbitrarily detained civilians, including those who were forcibly disappeared and whose whereabouts should be disclosed.

“M23 should treat detainees humanely and provide them with access to lawyers and their families. Independent monitoring bodies must urgently be granted access to all M23 detention sites,” it said.

Eight detainees reported witnessing fellow detainees die in detention, likely from torture and harsh detention conditions, according to the Manzi Foundation.

It added that former detainees said M23 accused them of supporting the Congolese army or government through working with civil society, hiding or possessing weapons, knowing the whereabouts or being affiliated with other armed group members, civil servants or government officials, looting, or speaking out against M23 abuses.

Last month, M23 rebels allegedly backed by Rwanda, agreed to work toward a truce with the Congolese government in talks brokered by Qatar in Doha.

About 1 million people have been displaced by conflict in eastern Congo since late January, according to the UN.​​​​​​​