Mass graves with 171 bodies found in eastern DR Congo: Report

A local governor says authorities found two mass graves in the outskirts of the eastern city of Uvira which the rebel M23 group seized in December.Published On 27 Feb 2026Congolese authorities and a civil society group have said that mass graves were found in a part of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where the M23 rebel group has recently withdrawn from, as fighting in the region escalates despite a United States-mediated peace deal.The governor of South Kivu province, Jean-Jacques Purusi, told The Associated Press news agency on Thursday that authorities found two mass graves with at least 171 bodies in the Kiromoni and Kavimvira neighbourhoods on the outskirts of the eastern city of Uvira.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Residents emerge in DR Congo’s tense Uvira after M23 rebel takeoverlist 2 of 3DR Congo’s M23 rebels enter centre of strategic city Bukavulist 3 of 3Mapping the human toll of the conflict in DR Congoend of list“At this stage, we have identified two sites: one mass grave containing approximately 30 bodies in Kiromoni, not far from the Burundian border on the Congolese side, and another in Kavimvira where 141 bodies were found,” Purusi told AP over the phone.The Executive Secretariat of the Local Network for the Protection of Civilians, a civil society group in the region, said on Thursday it wanted to visit the mass graves but was prevented from doing so by the Congolese military.Information gathered so far indicates that the victims were killed by M23 rebels, said Yves Ramadhani, the group’s vice president.The governor and the civil society group alleged that the rebels killed the individuals because they suspected them of belonging to the DRC army or a pro-government militia.Both the DRC military and M23 have been accused of extrajudicial killings and abuses by rights groups. Al Jazeera could not independently verify Purusi’s or the group’s claims.