 "DRC accuses Rwanda-backed M23 of killing over 1,500 people last month")
The Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed that the attacks by the M23 militia, backed by Rwanda, have killed more than 1,500 civilians since December last year.
Authorities in DRC have described the new wave of attacks as “a clear act of aggression against national sovereignty” and a “serious and repeated violation of international law.”
Last month, the M23 rebels said that they had taken control of the strategic city of Uvira in eastern Congo after launching a fresh offensive despite the US-brokered peace deal.
A US-mediated peace agreement was signed last month by the presidents of the Congolese and Rwandan governments in Washington. The accord didn’t include the rebel group, which is negotiating separately with Congo and agreed earlier this year to a ceasefire that both sides accuse the other of violating. However, it obliges Rwanda to halt support for armed groups and work to end hostilities.
Congo, the United States, and UN experts accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebel group, which had only a few hundred members in 2021 but has since expanded significantly. The United Nations now estimates the group has about 6,500 fighters.
Rwanda rejects the accusation of backing M23, though it acknowledged last year that it has deployed troops and missile systems in eastern Congo, saying the move is necessary to protect its national security. UN experts estimate that as many as 4,000 Rwandan soldiers are currently operating inside Congo.
The eastern Congo, a mineral-rich region near the Rwandan border, is home to more than 100 armed groups competing for control, with the M23 being the most prominent. The ongoing violence has fueled one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, displacing more than 7 million people, according to officials.
Quick Reads
View AllThe UN Security Council has condemned Rwanda’s support for M23 and urged it to withdraw its forces and stop supporting the M23 armed group. In December, the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution and extended the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known as MONUSCO, for an additional year.
The decision came despite Rwanda’s repeated denials of involvement in the conflict, which has intensified as a United States–brokered peace agreement has begun to unravel, even as mounting evidence points to Rwandan involvement.
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