M23 Massacres Civilians Weeks After Washington Peace Deal

When Congolese and Rwandan officials gathered in Washington on June 27 to sign a U.S.-brokered peace accord, the world was told a new chapter had begun. Rwanda pledged to withdraw its troops, Congo promised to deal with the FDLR militia, and civilians were assured protection.

But in the fields and villages of Rutshuru, North Kivu, a darker reality unfolded. Within weeks of the celebrated handshake, the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group launched a campaign of terror, executing over 140 civilians in July 2025, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Between July 10 and 30, M23 fighters swept through at least 14 villages near Virunga National Park. Survivors described summary executions in fields, homes, and along the Rutshuru River.

Witnesses said men, women, and children were rounded up, their throats cut with machetes or shot at point-blank range. Others were forced to bury their relatives immediately or abandon the bodies. Some corpses, including those of women and children, were dumped into the river.

“The M23 armed group, which has Rwandan government backing, attacked over a dozen villages and committed dozens of summary executions of primarily Hutu civilians,” said Clémentine de Montjoye, HRW’s senior Great Lakes researcher.

HRW documented at least 141 victims, but the UN Human Rights Office reported a higher toll, confirming that 319 civilians were killed by M23 and Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) units between July 9 and 21 in four Rutshuru villages.

The massacres came just weeks after the Washington Peace Accord, signed under U.S. mediation. The deal required Rwanda to pull back its forces and Congo to neutralize the FDLR militia, while both pledged to protect civilians.

Instead, the killings showed the gap between diplomatic pledges and battlefield realities.

“While leaders were shaking hands in Washington, M23 was executing families in the fields,” Human Rights Watch

The attacks were reportedly led by the 1st Battalion of M23’s 1st Brigade, commanded by Col. Samuel Mushagara and Brig. Gen. Baudoin Ngaruye is both long linked to war crimes. Witnesses also identified Rwandan soldiers among the attackers by their uniforms and accents.

On August 11, Rwanda’s foreign ministry rejected the UN findings, blaming the killings on other militias. The M23’s political wing, the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), also denied responsibility.

But survivors, local activists, and medical workers pointed directly to M23 fighters and their Rwandan allies.

“The people of Rutshuru are not fooled. The world may debate politics, but here we see who carries the guns and who digs the graves,” said a Congolese human rights defender.

Most victims were ethnic Hutu farmers, with some Nande civilians also killed. HRW said this pattern raises fears of ethnic cleansing near FDLR strongholds.

“The deliberate targeting of Hutu civilians suggests this is more than just a military operation,” said de Montjoye. “It risks igniting dangerous ethnic violence.”

HRW urged the UN Security Council, EU, and donor governments to impose new sanctions on M23 leaders and Rwandan officials, and to prosecute commanders implicated in war crimes.

“The Washington Accord promised security, but all we got were mass graves,” said a survivor whose wife and three children were executed in their field.

As long as Rwanda-backed commanders remain untouched and peace deals are treated as diplomatic theater, civilians in eastern Congo will remain trapped between ink on paper and blood in the soil.