UN says M23 rebels killed 319 civilians in eastern Congo, including women and children, in July attacks on villages.

At least 319 civilians, including 48 women and 19 children, were killed by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last month, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said on Wednesday, citing first-hand accounts.

The killings occurred in Rutshuru territory of North Kivu province between July 9 and 21, and, according to Türk, represent “one of the largest documented death tolls in such attacks since the M23’s resurgence in 2022.”

The victims were mostly local farmers camping in their fields during the planting season.

Initial findings from the UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) had put the toll at 169 when first reported by Reuters in July. But the updated UN assessment now shows the scale of the massacre was far greater.

A local activist said that witnesses described M23 fighters using both guns and machetes to carry out the killings. Two UN sources confirmed that at least 100 of the victims had been identified by name so far, with investigations ongoing.

The M23 has previously denied responsibility, with its leader Bertrand Bisimwa suggesting the reports could be part of a “smear campaign,” though he did promise an internal probe. Rwandan officials and M23 representatives have yet to respond to the new UN report.

The UN says M23 rebels appeared to have targeted civilians suspected of links to the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)—a Hutu rebel group based in Congo, some of whose members are remnants of the forces responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Despite pledges from both the M23 and Congolese government to work toward peace by August 18, fighting has intensified this year, with the rebels seizing more territory than ever before. Thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced.

The violence threatens to derail regional stability and undermines a peace agreement signed on June 27 in Washington, in which Congo agreed to neutralise the FDLR in exchange for a Rwandan troop withdrawal.

Rwanda continues to deny backing M23 and claims its military actions are defensive, targeting FDLR elements that threaten its border security.

Eastern Congo remains plagued by decades-long conflict, exacerbated by competition over vast mineral resources including gold, cobalt, coltan, tungsten, and tin. (Arise news)