The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group has denied responsibility for a series of massacres in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, dismissing an Amnesty International Watch report published on Wednesday accusing its fighters of killing more than 140 civilians.
M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka described the allegations as “fake” and “a falsification of reality,” accusing Amnesty International of spreading “extremist propaganda.” The denial comes amid heightened scrutiny of M23, which is among more than 100 armed groups battling for control in Congo’s mineral-rich east.
The report alleged that M23 carried out killings as part of its offensive against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a militia composed largely of ethnic Hutu fighters. Both the Congolese military and M23 have previously been accused of atrocities against civilians, including extrajudicial killings during M23’s capture of key cities earlier this year.
The conflict is rooted in longstanding tensions dating back to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, which forced nearly two million Hutus into Congo. Kigali maintains that many of those who fled participated in the genocide and accuses the Congolese army of offering them protection.