Security forces in the Republic of Congo are facing allegations of human rights abuses following a nationwide crackdown on criminal gangs of machete-wielding youths known locally as “bebe noir” or black babies.
The operation, launched in early October by the presidential protection force, targets the gangs that have terrorised major cities for years, attacking residents, businesses, and homes.
While many Congolese have welcomed the government’s tough stance on crime, others have expressed alarm over reports of summary executions and viral images showing suspected gang members being killed.
“It’s a good initiative because people have been living in fear. I just hope it continues,” said a resident of Pointe-Noire in the country’s south.
“We shopkeepers now close earlier than usual.
“Otherwise, they take our money or attack us with machetes,” added a local vendor.
Human rights advocates, however, say the security operation has taken a dangerous turn, violating the Congolese constitution and the nation’s international human rights obligations.
“It is unacceptable that people’s lives are taken with impunity and shared online,” said activist Anael Yeke. “If offenders are identified, they must be handed over to judicial authorities, not executed in the streets.”
The “bebe noir” gangs, mostly comprising youths aged 13 to 30, have been described by a prosecutor in Brazzaville as engaging in “terrorism.”
Analysts link their rise to high unemployment and the absence of social protection, despite Congo’s status as one of Africa’s top oil producers.
Although Congo abolished the death penalty in 2015, the resurgence of extrajudicial killings has reignited fears of state violence and impunity.
The government is meanwhile preparing to open a youth reintegration centre in the Bouenza region, about 200 kilometres from Brazzaville, aimed at offering alternatives to young people trapped in crime and poverty.
