At least 140 people were killed in July by M23 rebels in one of the deadliest massacres in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since the group’s resurgence in late 2021, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.
In a report released Wednesday, HRW said the Rwanda-backed armed group carried out “summary executions” of civilians, including women and children, in at least 14 villages in Rutshuru territory, near Virunga National Park.
Witness accounts describe killings with guns and machetes, as well as bodies dumped into rivers.
“We woke up on 11 July and [the M23] were there in large numbers.… They killed people with guns and machetes,” one survivor said, noting that five members of his family were killed.
Another woman told HRW she saw fighters murder her husband with a machete before rounding up women and children along a riverbank and opening fire.
According to the rights group, M23 fighters blocked roads to prevent residents from fleeing and forced locals to bury the dead in nearby fields, denying families the chance to hold funerals.
The report, based on 25 testimonies as well as medical, military, and UN sources, also accused members of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) of backing the offensive. The UN has separately reported that the RDF supported M23 in the killing of at least 319 people in Rutshuru between 9 and 21 July.
Kigali has rejected the accusations, calling them “gratuitous and sensational allegations” that undermine peace efforts. The M23, for its part, has denied responsibility, describing the claims as “a blatant misrepresentation of the facts.”
A Stalled Peace Process
The killings occurred despite ongoing international mediation. Last month, the DRC government and M23 signed a ceasefire deal in Qatar, but the rebels later pulled out of talks, accusing Kinshasa of reneging on commitments. They have since agreed to send a technical team to Doha to discuss the truce.
Fighting between M23 and government forces escalated in January when the group seized swathes of the mineral-rich east, including parts of Goma. The UN estimates thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced since.
M23 claims it is defending Tutsi communities against Hutu militias, particularly the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), some of whose founders participated in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. But rights groups accuse the rebels of widespread atrocities against civilians.
Calls for Accountability
HRW urged the UN Security Council, the European Union, and partner governments to impose further sanctions on M23 leaders and press for the prosecution of commanders implicated in war crimes.
“The international community cannot stand by while civilians in eastern Congo face yet another wave of massacres,” the rights group said.
