M23 Expels People from Goma, Claiming Illegal Migrants

May 19, 2025

(3 Minutes Read)

The majority of the families are from the Karenga region, located in North Kivu, which had been under the control of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)

Thousands of people believed to be illegals from Rwanda were expelled by the M23 from the key major town of Goma on Saturday. The M23 spokesperson, Willy Ngoma, said that 181 individuals claiming they were Rwandan subjects who were illegally in Goma.

Also expelled were thousands of women and children believed to be family members of the culprits. According to witnesses, they were carried in trucks and their documents, issued by the Congolese authorities, were burned to ashes. The group claimed that the documents were bogus.

The majority of the families are from the Karenga region, located in North Kivu, which had been under the control of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). Both Kigalia and M23 accuse the Congo government of supporting the FDLR, which has also committed numerous atrocities in the region. According to some sources, most families lived in a displacement camp in Sake, a few kilometres from Goma.

According to Eujin Byun, a spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR], some 360 people were repatriated into Rwanda on Saturday.