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Image - Reuters

Kishishe, DRC - Democratic Republic of Congo's government on Monday said 300 civilians were killed in a massacre in the eastern town of Kishishe last week, raising the death toll from a previous estimate of 50.

The government blamed the attack on the notorious armed group M23 with which it has been locked in a months-long conflict. It also said the rebels were backed by members of the Rwandan army, a frequent accusation by the Congolese government which Rwanda has consistently denied.

The latest violence comes just five days after a ceasefire was agreed between the rebels and Congolese forces.

“Every community has been able to record the people who died from units in Kishishe and its environs,” said Paluku, who was governor of North Kivu province from 2007 to 2019.

“One community alone has more than 105 deaths,” he added.

The rebel group has denied it was responsible and called the allegations “baseless” — although it said eight civilians were killed by “stray bullets” during clashes in the village on 29 November.

All the fatalities were civilians and at least 17 believed to be children, Muyaya told reporters, saying there were fatalities recorded from a church and a hospital.

March 23 movement or M23
The March 23 movement is a predominantly Congolese Tutsi rebel group that was dormant for years.
It took up arms again in November last year and seized the town of Bunagana on the border with Uganda in June. After a brief period of calm, it went on the offensive again in October.

The UN’s peacekeeping mission in DR Congo has led calls for an investigation after the government said 50 villagers had been massacred by a notorious armed group in the country’s troubled east.

Image - Reuters

Representatives for the United States and European Union said the killings were potential war crimes, while Human Rights Watch said UN troops should be deployed to protect survivors.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday he had had a "productive conversation" with Rwandan President Paul Kagame about the need for peace and security in eastern DRC.

"The United States urges Rwanda to honor commitments made in Luanda, including ending Rwanda's support to M23," Blinken said on Twitter.

But Rwanda's foreign minister Vincent Biruta said that "differences in understanding of the issue remain".

The government has said

Muyaya said consolidation work was underway to try and ascertain the full number of victims hinting at the difficulty to confirm the data because the area is still under rebel control.

Residents who spoke to AFP by telephone said they had been ordered by the rebels to bury the victims in mass graves.

Kigali disputes the charge and has accused Kinshasa of collusion with the FDLR — a former Rwandan Hutu rebel group established in the DRC after the genocide of the Tutsi community in 1994 in Rwanda.

Talks between the two countries in the Angolan capital Luanda unlocked a truce agreement on 23 November. The ceasefire was scheduled to take effect on 25 November.
-Reuters/AFP