140 Villagers Killed by M23 in DR Congo: Human Rights Watch

The DR Congo government and the M23 rebels missed an Aug. 18 deadline to reach an agreement at U.S.-brokered peace talks in Qatar.

An undated photograph of a member of the M23 rebel group walking on the outskirts of Matanda, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Zohra Bensemra/Reuters

Rebels allegedly backed by neighboring Rwanda killed at least 140 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in July, nonprofit organization Human Rights Watch said in a report published Aug. 20.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the civilians, mostly ethnic Hutus, were “summarily executed” by M23 rebels in 14 villages in North Kivu province, in the east of the Central African country.