The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has said 272 civilians were killed in a massacre in the eastern town of Kishishe last week, raising the death toll from a previous estimate of 50, which the government blames on the M23 rebel group.
The UN’s peacekeeping mission in the DRC denounced reports of the atrocities last week, saying they could amount to “crimes under international humanitarian law” if confirmed.
The DRC army and the M23—a predominantly Congolese Tutsi rebel group—have been locked in fighting for months in the country’s restive east, and the alleged attack will likely shatter a fragile ceasefire agreement in the region reached last month.
The UN has previously warned that the fighting is leading to the displacement of tens of thousands of people amid deteriorating humanitarian conditions.
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