UN Reports 169 Civilians Killed by M23 Rebels in Eastern Congo

A United Nations body, the UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO), has accused the M23 rebel group of killing at least 169 civilians, mainly farmers, in an assault earlier this month in Rutshuru territory, North Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The attack targeted suspected members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a rebel group with ties to forces responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide, but civilians far from any protection were killed, with reports describing M23 combatants using guns and machetes. M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa has dismissed the UN report as a possible smear campaign and announced plans to investigate the allegations internally. This revelation emerges amid U.S. President Donald Trump's administration pushing for peace between Congo and Rwanda, aiming to unlock billions in mineral investments. The M23 and Congolese government have pledged to work towards peace by August 18 after intense fighting that displaced hundreds of thousands and took thousands of lives. UNJHRO's findings cite credible information from multiple independent sources, but Reuters has not independently verified the killings.