Editor’s Note: Warning: This story contains descriptions of rape and sexual violence.
Sixteen-year-old Darkuna watched, terrified, as six gun-wielding men ransacked her home. “For God’s sake, what do you really want?” she cried.
One of the fighters looked directly at the girl and responded: “I want you.”
After stealing the family’s valuables, each of the armed men raped Darkuna and her 18-year-old sister. Their parents, helpless, were forced to watch.
Darkuna is a pseudonym for the teenager, who provided this testimony to the United Nations’ children’s agency UNICEF via a partner organization on the ground in Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Fighting has escalated in the mineral-rich region since the rebel coalition Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), of which the notorious M23 armed group is a key member, captured key territory earlier this year – including Goma, which as of late January was home to about 3 million people, of whom 1 million were displaced, according to a February Relief Web report.
The conflict has exacerbated what’s been described as an epidemic of rape and sexual violence that aid groups say often victimizes the youngest and most vulnerable.
Their accounts shed light on how rape is a horrifically common aspect of the conflict in the DRC, often committed with impunity against women and girls of all ages.
‘My grandmother could do nothing’
In January, the rampaging AFC rebel coalition stormed Goma and clashed with the Congolese military. Electricity, basic services and water were cut off, while running street battles plunged the city into days of unrelenting violence that claimed some 7,000 lives. The bodies of the dead filled the streets.
“Two men with guns forced their way into our home. My grandmother could do nothing but watch as they raped me. She cried, but she was powerless. We kept it a secret. I didn’t tell anyone. My grandmother was too ashamed and afraid,” Mudaralla’s account reads.
“My grandmother’s biggest fear is that I might be pregnant or have contracted an infection. I don’t know what the future holds.”
Mudaralla’s rape remained a secret until about a month after the assault, when a community outreach worker, affiliated with UNICEF, visited her neighborhood and encouraged her to receive treatment. Countless more girls suffer in silence and, even for those who seek help, medical care and psychological support are scant.
Some 400,000 people were displaced by the outbreak of fighting earlier this year, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR.
In the chaos, hundreds of children were separated from their families, leaving them even more at risk of sexual violence by parties to the conflict, according to UNICEF.
Children raped while fetching water
For families that managed to remain together, there is no safe place to go and little infrastructure to protect them from the armed factions. Aid workers with Save the Children say fetching water from a well is one of the most dangerous activities for children in the conflict zone.
“My two daughters, one aged 15 and the other aged 13, became victims of rape this morning,” a mother’s testimony reads. “When they were going to draw water, six armed men isolated them and raped them in turn. I wanted to intervene, but I had just escaped death after being shot at twice. My daughters are in very critical condition. Please pray for them.”
Another account received by Save the Children details the assault of a young girl who, while drawing water near her home, was captured by armed fighters who tried to force themselves on her. When she resisted, the men shot the girl twice in the back. She survived and received medical treatment.
The AFC rebel group, which is accused of serious human rights violations, continues its rapid advance in the eastern regions of the DRC, most recently claiming control of the strategic city of Bukavu, where aid workers say they are already receiving reports of more child rape victims.
For survivors there is little prospect of justice. While allegations of rape are skyrocketing amid the latest fighting, sexual violence has haunted the DRC through decades of conflict, particularly in its mineral-rich east. In 2024 alone, tens of thousands of children received support after surviving sexual violence or rape, according to Save the Children.
Rape is a weapon of war wielded by all parties to the conflict at a staggering rate, but most cases of sexual violence are never investigated or prosecuted, and very few are even reported, according to the UN.
Rights groups say impunity protects and encourages perpetrators, fueling a cycle of rape and violence that has been accelerated by the surge in fighting.
This year, with the conflict spiraling out of control, aid workers fear a generation of children will be physically and mentally scarred by such attacks.
“Every day, we witness the devastating impact of sexual violence on children – some too young to even understand what has happened to them. We are providing urgent essential care, but no one should remain indifferent,” Toure said.