Goma, August 27, 2025 — The Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC/M23) has issued a strong condemnation of what it calls repeated violations of the Doha ceasefire agreement by government and allied forces, accusing Kinshasa of pursuing an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Banyamulenge community in South Kivu.
According to a statement released Wednesday, the coalition of the Congolese army (FARDC), the FDLR, Wazalendo militias, foreign mercenaries, and troops from the Burundi National Defence Force launched fresh offensives in South Kivu between August 26 and 27.
Fighting reportedly erupted in Kadasomwa and surrounding areas before spreading to Banyamulenge villages in Rugezi, Minembwe, in the Fizi highlands.
AFC claims the attacks left many civilians dead, displaced hundreds, and created “an unprecedented humanitarian crisis,” forcing its fighters to intervene “to protect defenseless civilians.”
“These successive attacks are part of an ethnic cleansing campaign against our compatriots Banyamulenge, perpetrated in complicity with the Burundian army and in broad daylight,” said Lawrence Kanyuka, head of communications for AFC.
The group accused both the Congolese government and its allies of acting with “total impunity” while the international community remains silent.
“The Alliance Fleuve Congo condemns the complicit silence of the national and international community and reaffirms its unwavering commitment to defend and protect civilian populations from this existential threat, whatever its source,” the statement read.
The latest escalation raises fears of worsening instability in the Fizi highlands, where ethnic tensions and armed group activity have long fueled cycles of violence.