GOMA, DR CONGO — A senior commander of the FDLR militia, identified only as Mutayomba, was severely wounded during fierce fighting with AFC/M23 rebels in the volatile Masisi Territory of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to reports released on Sunday, May 31.
Initially reported to have been killed, updated accounts confirm that Mutayomba sustained critical injuries during recent military operations around Rubaya. The region, a strategic and highly contested mining hub in North Kivu, has recently been the site of intense clashes between the AFC/M23 rebel movement and Congolese government forces, who are fighting alongside a coalition of allied militias.
Mutayomba is a notorious figure in the region, widely accused of orchestrating deadly attacks targeting the Banyamulenge and other Congolese Tutsi communities in eastern DRC.
A Rwandan national, Mutayomba reportedly fled to the DRC in the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Over the ensuing decades, he rose through the ranks of the various armed factions proliferating in North Kivu. Reports indicate that his current faction is composed of veteran FDLR fighters as well as local Congolese youth. He frequently operated alongside the Nyatura armed group, a militia that reportedly receives logistical and military support—including weapons and ammunition—from elements within the Congolese armed forces.
The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is a rebel group founded by remnants of the forces and militias responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Operating from eastern DRC for three decades, the militia has been repeatedly accused of spreading genocidal ideology, committing severe human rights abuses against civilians, and launching cross-border attacks into Rwanda.
The wounding of Mutayomba marks the latest blow to his family’s involvement in the region’s militant networks. His brother, Nzima, who reportedly fought alongside him, was killed during earlier military operations in January 2025.
Regional officials have publicly condemned the militia leader’s track record in the wake of the clashes. Willy Manzi, the Vice Governor of North Kivu, described Mutayomba as a man whose name is synonymous with the suffering of the local population.
“Mutayomba’s legacy is one of destruction. He killed civilians, looted communities, slaughtered livestock belonging to the people of Masisi, and reduced homes and entire villages to ashes,” Manzi wrote in a statement published on X on Sunday.
Manzi also criticized the informal systems that allowed figures like Mutayomba to gain power and alleged protection despite widespread accusations of civilian abuse.
“The self-proclaimed ‘General’ Mutayomba was not a career military officer,” Manzi stated. “He went from mining sites to calling himself a general and became an FDLR commander.”
The ongoing conflict in North Kivu, particularly around resource-rich areas like Rubaya, continues to exacerbate a severe humanitarian crisis, displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire of the region’s complex web of armed groups.
