The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has rejected claims by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) that the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) was involved in the killing of hundreds of civilians in eastern DR Congo by the AFC/M23 rebel group.
According to a joint report released on August 6 by the UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) and OHCHR, the rebels were accused of killing 319 civilians and injuring 169 others across four villages in Rutshuru Territory between July 9 and 21. The report further alleged that the RDF, said to be backing the rebels, “aided” in the killings.
In its August 11 statement, the Ministry dismissed the accusations as “false,” stressing that OHCHR had provided no evidence, corroboration, or motive to support its claims. It said the “gratuitous inclusion” of the RDF in the allegations was “unacceptable” and cast doubt on OHCHR’s credibility and methods.
The Ministry also criticized the UN for failing to protect civilians through its MONUSCO mission and warned that OHCHR’s “sensational allegations” risk undermining ongoing efforts toward a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the DRC.
This comes just days after the AFC/M23 also issued a statement dismissing OHCHR’s claims as unverified and politically motivated.
“The areas cited in the report—Kanyakiri, Kigaligali, Dubai, Katanga, Lubumbashi, Kasave, Kakoro, and Busesa—are within Virunga National Park, a protected zone where agricultural activity is strictly prohibited,” the group said.
“How could farmers have been massacred in nonexistent farmlands? This glaring inconsistency proves that the UNJHRO relayed unverified information, violating its investigative standards,” the statement continued.
The movement’s spokesperson, Lawrence Kanyuka, said the accusations “categorically reject the unfounded allegations,” claiming the UN’s assertions “lack factual backing, are methodologically flawed, and reflect unjustifiable bias.”
The group further accused UNJHRO’s Kinshasa-based office of relying on “regime-aligned sources” and publishing the report without independent verification.