Mass killing by M23 threatens Rwanda–Congo peace deal, UN says

As Rwanda and Congo head toward a shaky peace deal, mass killings threaten to reignite one of Africa’s deadliest regional conflicts.

The UN has accused a Rwanda-backed militia group called the M23 of massacring 169 civilians earlier this July, Reuters reported on July 31.

The M23, or the March 23 Movement, is one of more than 100 armed groups fighting the Congolese forces in the mineral-rich eastern DRC. It was formed in 2012 after members of the Congolese army mutinied, claiming the government had failed to uphold the 2009 peace agreement.

The attacks began on July 9 in Rutshuru, a territory in North Kivu province that has become the center of violence between the M23, the Congolese army, and a web of ethnic insurgencies.

The U.N. Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO), which monitors rights violations in Congo, said the victims were targeted in a brutal campaign allegedly aimed at rooting out members of the FDLR, a Rwandan Hutu militia accused of participating in the 1994 genocide.

“The human toll has been particularly high,” UNJHRO said. The victims, mostly Congolese Hutu farmers, had initially fled the area as fighting intensified. Locals described the carnage, detailing that civilians were “slaughtered” with machetes and guns.

Bertrand Bisimwa, the political leader of M23, said the claims were “unverified” and dismissed them as part of a smear campaign by Congolese staff within the UN.

He insisted that the group would conduct an internal investigation: “Before imposing sanctions, the facts must first be established,” Bisimwa told Reuters.

The attacks come as Congolese and Rwandan foreign ministers signed a peace deal in Washington, under pressure from the US on June 27. Trump has long framed regional security as imperative to unlocking billions in mineral investments.

The U.N. says thousands have been killed in the fighting since M23 resurfaced with greater strength than ever.

The Rwandan government, for its part, continues to deny backing the rebels, insisting it is acting in self-defense against FDLR incursions. But a U.N. expert report released this month said Rwanda has exercised “command and control” over M23 operations. Kigali dismissed the findings as a distortion of its legitimate security concerns.

Reuters/ Maghrebi