The AFC/M23 movement has reported continued killings, abductions, arbitrary arrests and aerial bombardments against civilians in various parts of South Kivu in eastern DR Congo.
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In a statement issued on Sunday, May 17, AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka accused coalition forces aligned with the Congolese government, including FARDC, the FDLR and Wazalendo militias, Burundian troops, as well as American and Colombian mercenaries, of sustaining attacks against civilian populations across several localities in the province.
"The coalition forces of the bloodthirsty Kinshasa regime continued their bloody campaign of terror, targeted massacres, and systematic persecution of innocent civilian populations,” the statement reads in part.
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Among the latest incidents reported was the killing of Elisha Kashapo, an agronomist who was allegedly shot dead by Wazalendo militias at on Saturday in the Kalundu neighbourhood of Uvira.
Kanyuka also reported the abduction of a neighbourhood chief identified as Malipo in Musenyi 1, Sange, by armed Wazalendo individuals.
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In Sange’s Kinanira neighbourhood, he said, Wazalendo elements looted and vandalised the residence of a local leader.
According to the statement, civilians in the area continue to endure nightly threats of looting, abductions, extortion, and arbitrary executions.
The statement further alleged that the principal of the Sasira Institute was arbitrarily arrested by Wazalendo fighters accusing him of collaborating with AFC/M23.
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In Minembwe and surrounding areas, AFC/M23 accused the coalition forces of continuing aerial attacks on civilian-populated zones.
The group claimed that from Saturday evening through Sunday morning, coalition forces carried out bombardments in Bidegu, Kalingi, and Mikenke using kamikaze drones and KT-6 aircraft.
According to the statement, several families fled the affected areas overnight.
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AFC/M23 described the attacks as violations of international humanitarian law and accused sections of the international community of remaining silent despite what it called ongoing crimes against civilians.
"These massacres, arbitrary arrests, abductions, acts of ethno-political persecution, and indiscriminate bombings of civilian areas are being perpetrated under the complicit gaze of certain actors in the international community,” Kanyuka noted.
He said some actors "continue to provide political, diplomatic, or military support to the Kinshasa regime despite the scale of the documented crimes.”
"The deafening silence of the mediator in the face of this human tragedy and massive violations of international humanitarian law represents a grave moral failure and an implicit endorsement of this machine of death,” reads the statement.
The rebel movement reiterated its commitment to protecting civilians affected by the conflict in eastern DR Congo.