At least 140 people were killed last month in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in one of the worst atrocities by M23 rebels since their resurgence in late 2021, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released Wednesday.
The killings took place in the Rutshuru area, near Virunga National Park, between 10 and 30 July, despite an ongoing peace process mediated by the US and Qatar. Witnesses told HRW that Rwanda-backed fighters “summarily executed” residents—mostly from the Hutu community—using machetes and gunfire, with women and children among the victims.
Survivors recounted harrowing scenes. One woman said rebels forced about 70 women and children to sit by a riverbank before opening fire. Another man described watching from afar as his wife and four children, aged nine months to 10 years, were killed. Locals said rebels blocked escape routes, ordered mass burials in fields, and dumped bodies, including children’s, into the Rutshuru River.
While M23 has denied responsibility, calling such accusations “a blatant misrepresentation of the facts,” HRW said witness testimony, medical evidence, and accounts from UN and military officials suggest otherwise. The group estimates total deaths may exceed 300, consistent with UN findings earlier this month.
The report also accused members of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) of supporting M23 operations—an allegation Kigali has repeatedly rejected as “gratuitous” and “sensational.” Rwanda insists armed Hutu militias allied with Congo’s army, particularly the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), were behind the killings.
Fighting between Congo’s army and M23 intensified in January when the rebels seized swathes of territory in the mineral-rich east, including the provincial capital Goma. The UN says thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced since the group re-emerged.
Peace efforts remain fragile. A DRC–Rwanda agreement requires Kinshasa to “neutralise” the FDLR, while a separate Qatar-brokered ceasefire was signed last month between M23 and the Congolese government. But negotiations collapsed last week after the rebels accused Kinshasa of failing to uphold its commitments. The Congolese army, in turn, accused M23 of fresh ceasefire violations.
HRW has called on the UN Security Council, the European Union, and other governments to condemn the massacres, impose additional sanctions, and ensure commanders implicated in atrocities face justice.
