GENOCIDE        WATCH

Self-styled "indigenous" armed groups target communities they consider foreigners in various regions across the country. While many groups in the DRC face violence and displacement in a context of insecurity, certain minorities are more vulnerable and targeted with disproportionate levels of hate speech and violence. In South Kivu, Mai-Mai militias from several ethnic groups have allied with Burundian rebels against the Banyamulenge, whose Congolese nationality they contest. They have besieged thousands of dispossessed and displaced Banyamulenge in Minembwe. More broadly, "Rwandophones" are persecuted as they are not considered Congolese. The recent resurgence of the mainly Tutsi M23 rebellion has triggered an increase in anti-Tutsi/anti-Rwandophone hate speech and attacks.  

In Ituri, the Lendu CODECO militias have been indiscriminately targeting the Hema in what the UN said may constitute genocide. In recent years, state security forces targeted Kasai-Luba civilians  in counter-insurgency operations in the Kasai region. In Kasai Province, the Bana Mura militia joined state forces to clearly target Luba with the aim of eliminating them. Additionally, the hunter-gather Batwa face cultural genocide and forced displacement in forests they depend on. Since Félix Tshisekedi became president in 2019, the security sitation in the DRC has not improved.