Two mass graves containing a total of at least 172 bodies have been found in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern city of Uvira, following the withdrawal of the AFC/M23 rebel group, a senior government official said.
The rebels briefly captured Uvira, a transit hub on Lake Tanganyika, near the Burundian border, in December. They began withdrawing a week later under U.S. pressure and the Congolese army re-entered the city last month.
AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka told Reuters he had been unaware of any mass graves during the group’s time in Uvira and accused the government of spreading propaganda to damage its reputation.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the circumstances of the deaths.
Jean-Jacques Purusi, the Kinshasa-appointed governor of South Kivu province, where Uvira is located, told local reporters the graves had been found in the Kilomoni and Kavimvira neighbourhoods.
One contained 31 bodies, the other 141, he added in comments made on Tuesday that were recorded and broadcast in the country on Thursday.
A local human rights activist, Mashauri Mwindule, told Reuters more graves had been found in Kabimba, a village 8 km (5 miles) from Uvira.
Campaign group Human Rights Watch reported in December that M23 fighters had carried out summary executions in Uvira, with bodies found in several neighbourhoods, including Kavimvira.
HRW cited residents and a United Nations source. AFC/M23 did not respond to those allegations at the time but had previously accused the organisation of running a “disinformation campaign” against it.
The Congolese army and allied militia groups also committed abuses before the rebels took the city and as they retreated, Human Rights Watch said.
AFC/M23 controls swathes of North and South Kivu provinces after a rapid offensive last year in which it seized the strategic cities of Goma and Bukavu.
Rwanda rejects allegations from Congo, the United Nations and Western powers that it supports M23 with arms and troops.
Fighting has continued in recent weeks on several fronts in eastern Congo despite mediation efforts by several actors, including Qatar and the United States.