M23 rebels killed at least140 civilians, says Human Rights Watch

The M23 rebels killed at least 140 people in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo last month in one of the worst atrocities from the armed group since their revival at the end of 2021, according to Human Rights Watch.

This is despite the peace process exposed to the US and Qatar to end the conflict in the region.

Witnesses reported about the propaganda group that the rebels who support Ruda “” eventually “the locals, including women and children, mainly from the ethnic hut in the Rutshur district, near the Virung National Park.

The rebels have previously strongly denied any role in these murders, calling the allegations “a brazen incorrect representation”.

He did not respond to a request to comment on the report, the rights reported.

The alleged massacre appeared to occur during the M23 campaign against the Armed Group Hutu, FDLR formed guilty of the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda.

HRW said the total murders in July could exceed 300, confirming similar UN findings earlier this month.

The fight between government troops and M23 rebels grew in January, when the rebels seized most of the rich mineral to the east, including the regional capital.

Thousands of people were killed and hundreds of thousands of civilians were forced from homes in the current conflict, the UN says.

In a report published on WednesdayHRW said M23 used Machete and shots to attack people at least 14 villages and agricultural areas near Virung National Park between 10 to 30 July.

Witnesses said M23 fighters surrounded and blocked all roads to the area to prevent people.

“We woke up on July 11, and (M23) were there in large numbers. (T) hey, were already on our doorstep.

On July 11, on July 11, a woman who saw the M23 militants kills her husband Machete, said that M23 fighters gathered 70 women and children on this day.

“They told us to sit on the edge of the river bank, and then they started shooting at us,” the woman said, adding that she survived after falling into the river without shooting.

Another man said he watched the rebels killed his wife and four children from nine months to 10 from afar, the report said.

The locals said the M23 fighters ordered them to immediately bury their bodies in the fields or leave them unburned, preventing families from organizing burials.

“M23 fighters also threw bodies, including women and children, in the Rutshur River,” the report added.

Referring to 25 witness accounts, as well as medical workers, military and UN staff, the report states that Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF) supported the M23 operation.

Earlier this month, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also reported that the RDF provided support for the M23 killings “at least 319 between 9 and 21 on Rutshur’s four villages.”

Kigali did not respond to the HRW lawsuit, but he anger denied the UN allegations, calling them “free” and “sensational allegations”, saying that they were at risk of undermining the peace process, and claiming that the armed group opposed the m23.

Rwanda denies sustainable and widespread allegations that it provides military support for M23, which is largely composed of the ethnic Tutsi group, which was directed at the Huta militia in genocide.

But Kigali perceives the Eastern Congo as a security threat, primarily due to the further existence of an armed Hutu group, FDLR, which fights with the army.

Murders occur against the backdrop of regional and international peaceful efforts to stop the long deadly conflict, including the agreement between Rwanda and the DRC with the provisions to “neutralize” the FDLR.

Separately, in Qatar last month, the M23 and the D -Congo government also signed a ceasefire agreement intended as a step to permanent peace.

But last week, when negotiations were set to resume, M23 left peace talks, saying that Kinshas did not fulfill the obligations set out in the declaration of principles.

The Congolese army also accused M23 of violating the ceasefire.

HRW called on the UN Security Council, the European Union and the governments to condemn the grave abuse that testifies to the Eastern Doctor of the Congo, imposed further sanctions to those responsible, and a press arrest and the relevant persecution of commanders involved in the conflict.