DRC accuses M23 of killing two civilians, including a girl, in an attack on a camp for displaced persons

July 16 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have denounced the death of two civilians, including a girl, in an attack carried out by alleged members of the rebel group March 23 Movement (M23) against a camp for displaced persons in North Kivu province. , located in the east of the African country.

The deputy to the governor in Bwito, Isaac Kibira, has detailed that “the M23 rebels are in the Bukombo area, in the village of Makomalehe” and added that from there “they launched several bombs that reached the Rushashe camp”. “Unfortunately, two people died. A six-year-old girl and her mother,” he stressed.

Likewise, he has added that the death toll “could increase” and has stated that “Human Rights defenders who could help supervise the area have already fled”, as reported by the Congolese news portal Actualité.

The M23, which has not yet ruled on what happened, is made up mainly of Congolese Tutsis and operates mainly in the North Kivu province. Following a conflict between 2012 and 2013, the RDC and the group signed a peace agreement in December. In these combats, the Congolese Army had the support of United Nations troops.

The group launched a new offensive in October 2022, intensified from November, causing a diplomatic crisis between the DRC and Rwanda over their role in the conflict. Kigali has accused Kinshasa of supporting the Forces démocratiques pour la libération du Rwanda (FDLR), an armed rebel group founded and composed mainly of Hutus responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.