A total of 272 civilians died in the attack carried out last week by the rebel group March 23 Movement (M23) in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to the latest figures from the Government, which initially estimated the deaths at a hundred. The M23 it was created in 2012, when Congolese soldiers revolted over the loss of power of their leader, Bosco Ntaganda, prosecuted by the ICC for war crimes; and due to alleged breaches of the peace agreement of March 23, 2009, which gives its name to the movement.
“The latest news that has just reached us is that there have been a total of 272 civilian deaths,” including at least 17 minors, Julien Paluku said at a press conference late Monday. Congolese Minister of Industry Y former governor of the North Kivu regionwhere the M23. The attack was perpetrated last week in the town of Kishishe, in Rutshuru territory.
On the other hand, the spokesman for the Executive and Minister of Press and Communication, Patrick Muyaya, revealed that the Government will request the opening of a research on the International Criminal Court (CPI) “Despite the restrictive road map of the Luanda mini-summit, a withdrawal of the Rwandan forces and the M23 terrorists has not been observed on the ground,” the Army lamented in a statement last week.
Related news
A summit held in the Angolan capital on November 23, at the invitation of the Angolan president, João Lourenço, African Union mediator between the DRC and Rwanda, addressed the accusation against Kinshasa of supporting the M23. Although Kigali strongly denies that point, a United Nations expert report leaked last August confirmed that cooperation.
At that summit, the Congolese president, Félix Tshisekedi, and the Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vincent Viruta -on behalf of its president, Paul Kagame-, demanded a cessation of hostilities as of November 25, but the fighting They broke out again last Thursday. The rebels, for their part, denied the official figures through a statement and placed the number of civilians killed at eight, due to “stray bullets.”