More than four hundred civilians have been killed in South Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo after the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group pushed deeper into the province this week, regional authorities said. The surge in fighting has also uprooted around two hundred thousand people and placed a new peace deal under heavy strain.
The escalation follows the group’s capture of Uvira, a strategic port town on Lake Tanganyika, on Thursday. Residents told Reuters that M23 fighters entered the city after a rapid advance that began earlier in the month. The town had served as the seat of the Kinshasa-appointed provincial government since rebels overran Bukavu in February.
South Kivu officials said on Wednesday that at least four hundred thirteen civilians were killed “by bullets, grenades and bombs” in areas between Uvira and Bukavu. The spokesperson accused Rwandan special forces and foreign mercenaries of operating alongside M23 “in clear violation of the ceasefire as well as the Washington and Doha agreements.”
The violence comes less than a week after a United States-mediated accord between the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in Washington, meant to reduce tensions and curb cross-border support for armed groups. The deal did not include M23, which is negotiating separately with Kinshasa following a ceasefire earlier this year that both sides say was breached.
Despite the uncertainty, local residents ventured outside on Thursday morning in search of food after spending a day hiding or fleeing. “The government told us that Uvira would never fall and that the situation was under their control,” teacher Godefroid Shengezi told Reuters. “The reality today is quite the opposite.”
The United States and United Nations experts have long accused Rwanda of backing M23. The group, which had a few hundred members in 2021, now numbers roughly six thousand five hundred fighters, according to the UN. Rwanda denies supporting the rebels, though it acknowledged last year that it has deployed troops and missile systems in the eastern DRC, citing national security concerns.
Earlier this week, the US State Department said it was “deeply concerned by the ongoing violence,” warning Rwanda to prevent further escalation. The US Embassy in Kinshasa repeated the call on Wednesday, urging M23 and Rwandan forces to halt all offensive operations and for Rwandan troops to withdraw.
Africa Digital News, New York
