"Gross rights violations, possibly including war crimes and crimes against humanity, may have been committed by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia and the Congolese military and its affiliates in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to United Nations investigators. A fact-finding mission by the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday that it has determined that all sides in the devastating conflict had committed abuses since late 2024, including summary executions and rampant sexual violence in the provinces of North and South Kivu."
"Eastern DRC, a region bordering Rwanda, has been plagued by non-state armed groups and suffered extreme violence for more than three decades. Since taking up arms again at the end of 2021, the M23 armed group has seized swaths of land in the restive region with Rwanda's backing, triggering an armed conflict with the DRC military, resulting in a spiralling humanitarian crisis that killed thousands and displaced at least seven million people."
"While multiple human rights bodies and the UN have accused parties in the DRC conflict of gross atrocities, this is the first UN report to find that those abuses may have constituted crimes against humanity. The atrocities described in this report are horrific, said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk in a statement, calling for accountability for victims."
UN investigators determined that gross rights violations, possibly including war crimes and crimes against humanity, were carried out in eastern DRC by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia, the Congolese military, and affiliates. All sides committed abuses since late 2024, including summary executions, torture, enforced disappearances, and widespread sexual violence in North and South Kivu. Eastern DRC has faced non-state armed groups and extreme violence for more than three decades. M23 resumed fighting at the end of 2021, seized swaths of land and captured Goma in January, advancing across North and South Kivu. The conflict triggered a spiralling humanitarian crisis that killed thousands and displaced at least seven million people. UN High Commissioner Volker Turk called for accountability for victims.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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