At least eight people were killed when gunmen attacked the village of Bungusu in the province of North Kivu, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported, citing local officials. According to the same source, among the victims are five women and two children.

A Red Cross official in the area, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the attack took place at around 1am on Wednesday.

He noted that at least four of the eight civilians were killed by “axe blows”, and another four bodies were found in latrines.

According to testimonies, on Tuesday afternoon fighters of the M23 (March 23 Movement), which consists mainly of Tutsi rebels, had appeared in the area.

The KST (Kivu Security Tracker) analyst network believes that M23 rebels who were chasing a member of the Nyatura CMC organization (where the dominant element is members of the Hutu tribe) are responsible for the massacre.

In a statement issued today, M23 condemned the massacre of civilians in and around Bungusu village, blaming “Kinshasa government forces” for the bloodshed.

The March 23 Movement (or M23) is made up mainly of ex-servicemen – members of the Tutsi tribe – who rebelled in 2012. It was defeated by the armed forces in 2013, but took up arms again in late 2021, accusing Kinshasa of not respected the agreements on the disarmament and social reintegration of its members.

It controls areas of North Kivu, in eastern DRC, bordering Rwanda and Uganda. The DRC government accuses Rwanda of supporting M23, which Kigali denies but the UN has verified.

Late last year, the UN accused M23 of killing more than 170 civilians in November in the village of Kisise, about 15 kilometers north of Bungusu.