The AFC/M23 rebel movement has accused the Congolese government coalition of launching large-scale attacks on its positions and on civilians in several areas across South Kivu province. The movement's spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said that since early morning till around 8pm on Sunday, coalition forces comprising the FARDC, the FDLR, and Wazalendo militias carried out what he described as “attacks of unprecedented violence.” ALSO READ: DR Congo crisis: Ceasefires 'will be in vain' if Kinshasa continues attacks According to Kanyuka, the 12-hour assaults involved the use of combat drones and heavy artillery targeting AFC/M23 positions as well as civilian populations in densely populated areas including Gatoyi, Gasheke, Murema, Mberwa, Ruki, Mutobo and surrounding localities. “These assaults continue relentlessly, turning these localities into fields of ruins and sowing death, terror, and despair among our compatriots,” he said in a post on X on Sunday. ALSO READ: Bisimwa condemns ‘indifference’ of mediators amid Kinshasa’s attacks The spokesperson further alleged that at around 10:00 a.m., the same coalition forces — reinforced by elements of the Burundi National Defence Force and foreign mercenaries — launched another attack against civilians in Nyaruhinga, Minembwe. He said the attack resulted in “massive loss of human life” and forced hundreds of families to flee under precarious conditions. The latest accusations come amid fragile ceasefire efforts under the Doha peace track between AFC/M23 and the Congolese government. Earlier this month, the two parties signed a mandate in Doha to operationalise a ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism, under which MONUSCO was tasked with deploying monitoring teams in coordination with the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. Kanyuka said the reported attacks amount to “flagrant and tragic violations of the ceasefire,” accusing the Kinshasa government of deliberately undermining commitments made under the Doha framework. The movement’s deputy coordinator, Bertrand Bisimwa, on Friday condemned the “indifference” of guarantors of the peace process in the face of alleged large-scale attacks on civilians in Minembwe and other parts of eastern DR Congo.
