Violence against journalists in DR Congo rising, says RSF

AFP Journalists.[AFP] 

Journalists have faced increasing violence and pressure amid the escalating conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Thursday.

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has seized large swathes of territory in the eastern part of the DRC since 2021.

The region is rich in natural resources and has been ravaged by conflict for the past 30 years.

The M23, known for its silencing of dissenting voices, captured the major cities of Goma in January 2025 and Bukavu in February 2025, setting up a parallel administration in those areas.

"All of the journalists in eastern DRC interviewed by RSF report that since the capture of Goma in January 2025, their working methods have radically changed," RSF said.

"At least eight journalists have been detained by M23 or by the military intelligence services of the regular army for several days," RSF added.

Two journalists were locked up by M23 in containers converted into jails, where up to 80 detainees are crammed together, according to a report published by RSF on Tuesday.

The M23 has also imposed "ideological training" on at least four journalists, censored programmes on local radio stations, and forced certain shows or talking points onto them.

Meanwhile, the government has accused journalists "of belonging to the M23 camp and its ally, Rwanda", the report said.

The DRC's High Council for Audiovisual and Communication (CSAC) has controlled the narrative on the war and "regularly takes decisions that increasingly resemble censorship," RSF said.

The capture of Goma also "marked an intensification of disinformation" by both sides, the NGO added.

Around 90 journalists from the South Kivu and North Kivu provinces were forced to flee their homes between 2023 and early 2025, according to the National Union of the Congolese Press.