More than 120 civilians were killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in an attack by the M23 rebel group.

“It was a massacre that took place between Tuesday and Wednesday. kisheshe (in the region Rutshuru). “More than 120 people have been killed by the M23,” Edgard Mateso, vice president for civil society in North Kivu province, where the attacked town is located, told EFE by phone today.

On the other hand, the President of Congo, Felix Tshisekedias reported by the government spokesman last night, confirmed at a cabinet meeting this Saturday that “more than a hundred” people were killed in this attack, Patrick Muyaya.

The death toll is therefore more than double what was originally reported by the US. DRC Armed Forces (FARDC) this Thursday.

“Despite the restrictive roadmap of the Luanda mini-summit, it was not observed in the field. Withdrawal of Rwandan forces and M23 terrorists“FARDC spokesman Brigadier General Sylvain Ekenge Bomusa complained,” in a statement.

The statement referred to the summit held in the Angolan capital last week at the invitation of the country’s president. Joao LourencoAfrican Union (AU) mediator between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, whom Kinshasa accuses of supporting M23.

Although Kigali vehemently denies this, an expert report United Nations The collaboration that leaked last August confirmed this collaboration.

At that meeting, Tshisekedi and Rwandan Foreign Minister, Vincent Chip -on behalf of the president, paul kagame– demanded an end to the fighting, starting at 18:00 local time (17:00 GMT) on Friday, 25 November, but clashes broke out again this Thursday.

Faced with the massacre, the president declared three days of national mourning starting this Saturday, while the Catholic Church held marches in Kinshasa and other cities of the country today to make demands. end of violence.

Similarly, the president “asked the Minister of Justice to initiate an internal investigation without delay and at the same time work in favor of an international investigation to clarify this matter. war crime”According to Muyaya.

Also, the UN and Amnesty International They called for an investigation and denounced the facts.

The rebels denied that figure in a statement yesterday, and They gave the number of civilians killed as eight.

The M23 was created in 2012 when Congolese soldiers rebelled after their leader lost power. bosco ntaganda, being tried for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC); and for alleged violations of the 23 March 2009 peace agreement that gave the movement its name.

The group demanded that the agreement signed by the Congolese guerrillas be renegotiated. National Convention for the Defense of the People (CNDP) for their integration into the Army to improve conditions.

Composed primarily of Tutsis (a group heavily damaged by the 1994 Rwandan genocide), the CNDP was formed in 2006 to fight Hutus, among other objectives. Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), It was founded in 2000 by holocaust ringleaders and other Rwandans exiled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to regain political power in their home country.

After years of inactivity, the M23 was reactivated last March and at least 340,000 people According to the latest UN figures, they have been displaced because of fighting with the FARDC.

After months of hiatus, fighting resumed this October and the M23, Tyrecapital city North Kivuwith conflicts between both sides about fifteen kilometers away from that strategic city. the rebels took it already in 2012.

Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo stuck in swamp a conflict fueled by rebel militias and the Army, despite the presence of the UN peacekeeping mission.