The United Nations confirmed that male inmates carried out at least 165 rapes of women prisoners during the massive prison break in Goma Democratic Republic of Congo on February 7th 2025. M23 rebel fighters launched their offensive toward Goma on January 27 thus creating prison unrest which allowed inmates to flee from Munzenze prison.
Hundreds of prisoners eluded authorities while gunshots sounded and smoke filled the surrounding areas according to an NBC News verifie Barely four days after the incident United Nations officials disclosed information about the sexual violence which occurred during the prison escape.
The United Nations’ representative for the DRC sector Vivian Van de Perre declared that Goma’s environment has become unstable because residents are leaving due to poor conditions and health concerns in the camps for displaced people. The unstable conditions have prevented the U.N. from completing a full verification of the atrocities. 
M23 rebels fought alongside Rwandan forces when they seized Nyabibwe mining town at a time when the rebels had previously announced their own unilateral ceasefire. The group’s military operations have pushed hundreds of thousands from their homes and Southeastern Congo now faces the risk of devastating regional warfare.
The U.N. Human Rights Office warned of growing sexual violence being used as a weapon of war because eastern Congo was facing this grim reality. The documentation confirmed that Congolese military personnel conducted 52 documented cases of gang rapes against women in South Kivu.
A 2014 government action plan to fight military sexual violence remains ineffective because perpetrators have not received any consequences. Doctors Without Borders documented the most extensive case of sexual violence survived by over 25,000 people in Congo last year.
The worsening human crisis has made international communities raise their voices to tackle both regional violence and instability.
