DRC: M23 Rebels Now Extorting Schools to Fund Terrorism

"The money I pay for my child's education is being used to buy weapons that destroy schools," laments a father, his voice breaking with anguish. In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a chilling system is taking root in territories occupied by the RDF-M23-AFC armed groups, backed by Rwanda. In these areas where terror and impunity reign, schools - long considered the last refuge of innocence - are being diverted from their primary mission of education. They have become a funding source for warfare. Numerous parents report illegal taxes imposed by RDF-M23-AFC for enrolling their children in primary school. This practice openly violates the Congolese Constitution, which guarantees free education. The collected fees benefit neither classrooms nor school supplies. Instead, they fund weapons purchases which, in a tragic irony, are turned against the very children whose families were forced to pay. ## Double Punishment for Families [Local communities face a dual burden](https://www.radiookapi.net/2025/05/15/actualite/societe/les-rebelles-du-m23-imposent-une-taxe-dassainissement-aux-habitants-0). On one side, their children are deprived of quality education. On the other, their meager resources fund massacres in their own villages. The RDF-M23-AFC's methods mirror those of the most radical terrorist organizations: forced recruitment of minors, large-scale atrocities, rape as a weapon of war, and systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure. ## Heavy International Sanctions The RDF-M23-AFC movement operates openly. [It is already under U.S. and European sanctions](https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/08/20/dr-congo-m23-mass-killings-near-virunga-national-park) for extreme violence against civilian populations. Washington and Brussels directly accuse the armed group of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. These restrictive measures target not only the combatants themselves but also certain Rwandan officials. The sanctions include asset freezes, travel bans, and surveillance of financial networks suspected of funding the rebellion. ## UN-Documented Violations The United Nations Joint Human Rights Office recently reported massive violations committed by M23: summary executions, forced displacement, widespread sexual violence, and village destruction. Detailed reports confirm the recruitment of child soldiers and systematic use of terror to control civilian populations. ## Rwanda's Shadow Behind these atrocities, Rwanda's role remains under scrutiny. Kigali stands accused of providing military, logistical, and political support to the movement, violating international law and Congolese sovereignty. Several human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have gathered damning evidence of this involvement. Allowing this situation to persist effectively legitimizes a system where exercise books are transformed into ammunition and blackboards become walls of mourning. Education, the foundation of any nation, is being weaponized against Congolese youth. By extorting families, the militias and their Rwandan sponsors are not just funding war - they are assassinating the very hope of a stable Congo. Today in the Democratic Republic of Congo, schools are no longer gateways to the future. Under RDF-M23-AFC terror, they have become death's slush fund, with every franc extorted representing another bullet in a child's body.