Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on leaders of the armed rebel coalition controlling Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to fully account for the abduction and torture of journalist Honneur-David Safari, and to prevent any further attacks on reporters.

 The RSF shared the following about Safari’s release and urged an end to further harm to journalists:

RSF is relieved by Honneur-David Safari’s release but strongly condemns his abduction and the torture he suffered. This violence illustrates the dangers that reporters face in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and yet they continue to do their duty to report the news. Journalists must stop being subjected to reprisals by the warring parties for performing this public service. We call on the AFC/M23 coalition, which controls this city, to shed full light on this serious attack and ensure that it does not happen again. 

According to the RSF, Safari was found alive three days after his disappearance. Authorities found Safari on December 31 in poor condition in a vacant lot near Nyantende in Kabare Territory. Safari’s lawyer, Pascal Mupenda, shared that Safari was taken to the hospital to be treated.

RSF sources and several local organizations alleged that the Alliance Fleuve Congo and the March 23 Movement (M23) held Safari in detention. Unidentified individuals abducted Safari on the evening of December 28 in Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province. Safari edits the La Prunelle RDC press group and had recently interviewed civilians who criticized what they described as forced marches of support imposed by the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) and the allied M23 in Goma, Bukavu and Uvira.

The abduction comes amid worsening instability in eastern DRC. In late January 2025, M23 captured Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, and in mid-February 2025, seized Bukavu, extending its control across much of the Lake Kivu region while continuing military operations. 

Attacks on press freedom have escalated in areas under M23 control. In April 2025, unidentified individuals abducted, tortured, and detained Amisi Musaada, a journalist with the online outlet DeboutRDC, for several days. Between January 2024 and January 2025, armed actors looted or forced more than 25 community radio stations to shut down and carried out over 50 documented attacks on newsrooms and journalists in North Kivu. 

Other press freedom organizations have also raised alarms. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Congo authorities to guarantee the safety of journalist Michael Tenende after a local mayor allegedly received repeated threats in response to his reporting.

International bodies have escalated pressure on the parties to the conflict. On February 7, 2025, the UN Human Rights Council agreed to establish a commission of inquiry and launch a fact-finding mission into alleged atrocities committed by all sides in the conflict. On February 21, 2025, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution ordering M23 to halt its military operations, withdraw from territory under its control, and dismantle parallel administrations established in eastern DRC. The council also called on Rwandan forces to end any support for M23 and to withdraw from Congo territory without conditions.