2023-07-16 15:31:01
At least 11 men were found dead on Sunday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in Rutshuru territory about 100 km north of Goma, according to local sources who accuse M23 rebels of having killed them.
Other sources in the groupement (administrative entity) of Bukombo, interviewed on condition of anonymity for their safety, confirmed this balance sheet of 11 dead, found after the withdrawal of the sector of the rebels of the M23. A civil society leader mentioned 12 victims.
“The M23 fought yesterday against self-defense groups,” explained the latter source. The rebels left “with people whom they forced to carry their luggage. When they arrived in Bukombo-centre, they killed them,” the official said.
Asked, spokespersons for the M23 did not respond on Sunday afternoon.
A mainly Tutsi rebellion, supported by Rwanda according to various sources including UN experts, the M23 (“March 23 Movement”) has seized since last year large swaths of territory north of Goma, chief place of the province of North Kivu.
A fragile truce has been observed in the fighting between the M23 and the Congolese regular forces since the deployment of soldiers from a regional force of the East African Community (EAC) a few months ago in the region. But sporadic clashes oppose the rebels to armed groups presenting themselves as patriots.
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