Rwanda on Monday publicly branded accusations from the United Nations that its army helped the M23 armed group kill hundreds of civilians as “unacceptable.” Since taking up arms again in 2021, the M23 has seized vast swathes of the mineral-rich Congolese east with Rwanda’s documented assistance. This has triggered a spiraling humanitarian crisis in a region already tragically burdened by more than three decades of devastating conflict.
The UN’s human rights chief, Volker Turk, said he was “appalled” that the M23 killed at least 319 civilians last July despite an ongoing diplomatic push for peace. Turk’s office said it had documented multiple assaults by the militia in North Kivu province, leading to a massive documented death toll.
Basing its report on numerous first-hand accounts, the UN rights body insisted the fighters were “backed by members of the Rwanda Defence Force.” The Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not deny the recent killings, but found the “gratuitous inclusion of the RDF in these allegations unacceptable.”
Such claims, according to the statement, “bring into question the credibility” and the methodology of the entire United Nations organization. The Rwandan government added that such “sensational allegations risk undermining the ongoing processes for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.”
This new diplomatic row comes only weeks after the Congolese government and the M23 signed a declaration on a permanent ceasefire. In the agreement signed in Doha, both warring parties agreed to “uphold their commitment to a permanent ceasefire” and refrain from “hate propaganda.”
The eastern DRC is rich in key minerals like gold and coltan, and has been riven by fighting between rival armed groups for over 30 years. Dozens of ceasefires and truces have been brokered and broken in recent years without providing a lasting end to the long-running conflict.