Amnesty International: rebel group M23 responsible for summary killings, rapes in DRC News
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Amnesty International: rebel group M23 responsible for summary killings, rapes in DRC

Amnesty International Friday reported that members of the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group killed at least 20 men and raped “scores of women” in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The report states the M23 rebel group, which the DRC and UN allege is backed by Rwanda, is responsible for “indiscriminate attacks on civilians.” The M23 group fights alongside the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which was established in the DRC after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Amnesty International found that in late November 2022, fighters for M23 summarily killed at least 20 men and raped at least 66 women and girls in the town of Kishishe. One survivor told Amnesty that after M23 rebels raped her, they took all the valuables in her home, including her goats.

Mass graves have been found in the region this year. Earlier this month, UN peacekeepers were killed after their helicopter came under fire in the eastern region of the DRC. The UN Security Council recently called for a ceasefire in the region, but it is still unclear if the call was heard.

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