An area governor says authorities discovered two mass graves within the outskirts of the jap metropolis of Uvira which the insurgent M23 group seized in December.
Printed On 27 Feb 2026
Congolese authorities and a civil society group have stated that mass graves have been present in part of jap Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) the place the M23 insurgent group has not too long ago withdrawn from, as preventing within the area escalates regardless of a United States-mediated peace deal.
The governor of South Kivu province, Jean-Jacques Purusi, informed The Related Press information company on Thursday that authorities discovered two mass graves with at the very least 171 our bodies within the Kiromoni and Kavimvira neighbourhoods on the outskirts of the jap metropolis of Uvira.
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“At this stage, we have now recognized two websites: one mass grave containing roughly 30 our bodies in Kiromoni, not removed from the Burundian border on the Congolese aspect, and one other in Kavimvira the place 141 our bodies have been discovered,” Purusi informed AP over the cellphone.
The Govt Secretariat of the Native Community for the Safety of Civilians, a civil society group within the area, stated on Thursday it wished to go to the mass graves however was prevented from doing so by the Congolese navy.
Data gathered thus far signifies that the victims have been killed by M23 rebels, stated Yves Ramadhani, the group’s vice chairman.
The governor and the civil society group alleged that the rebels killed the people as a result of they suspected them of belonging to the DRC military or a pro-government militia.
Each the DRC navy and M23 have been accused of extrajudicial killings and abuses by rights teams. Al Jazeera couldn’t independently confirm Purusi’s or the group’s claims.
The M23 is probably the most outstanding of the greater than 100 armed teams which might be vying for a foothold in mineral-rich jap DRC, close to the border with Rwanda.
M23 has been in a tense and violent battle with the DRC authorities for greater than a decade. The primary preventing started in 2012 however de-escalated the subsequent yr, solely to renew in 2021.
Then, in January 2025, the rebels gained floor, seizing Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, earlier than taking Bukavu, the capital of neighbouring South Kivu, the next month. And in December, the group seized control of Uvira in an offensive that killed greater than 1,500 folks and compelled about 300,000 to flee, in response to regional authorities.
The insurgent group later introduced it might withdraw from the town, in what it stated was a “unilateral trust-building measure” requested by the US to facilitate the peace course of.
M23 claims it’s preventing for the rights of the minority Tutsi group, who it says has been marginalised by the state. The DRC authorities has condemned the rebels and neighbouring Rwanda, which it accuses of supporting them, for seizing land and sources.
Final yr, two separate peace negotiation processes came about – one between DRC and M23 mediated by Qatar, and a separate one between Kinshasa and Kigali mediated by the US.
Regardless of agreed ceasefires, preventing has continued within the east of the nation.
The battle has created one of many world’s most important humanitarian crises, with greater than seven million folks displaced, in response to the UN company for refugees, and hundreds killed.
Greater than 200 folks have been additionally killed in a collapse on the Rubaya coltan mine in jap DRC final month.
