South Kivu governor says two mass graves hold at least 171 bodies

South Kivu Governor Jean-Jacques Purusi said authorities have identified two mass graves containing at least 171 bodies on the outskirts of Uvira, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, describing the finds as linked to the recent withdrawal of the M23 rebel group. The graves were located in the Kiromoni and Kavimvira neighborhoods, areas near the Burundian border that saw sustained violence during the group’s occupation.

"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 said. The provincial official provided the figures on Feb. 26 as authorities began preliminary documentation of the sites.

A regional civil-society group, the Executive Secretariat of the Local Network for the Protection of Civilians, said information it had collected pointed to M23 fighters as the perpetrators. "Information gathered so far indicates that the victims were killed by M23 rebels," said Yves Ramadhani, vice president of the group. The organization said it sought to visit the graves but was prevented from doing so by the Congolese military, a restriction that local activists say undermines immediate independent verification and victim identification.

The claims that M23 was responsible are strikingly serious but have not been independently verified. Both national and international human rights monitors have previously accused M23 and the Congolese armed forces of extrajudicial killings and other abuses in the region, underscoring the difficulty of assigning responsibility amid competing allegations.

M23 seized Uvira in a rapid offensive in December, a campaign regional authorities say killed more than 1,500 people and displaced roughly 300,000. The group later said it would withdraw from the city as a "unilateral trust-building measure" requested by the U.S. to facilitate the peace process. The return of civilians and the restoration of basic services in Uvira have been fragile since the offensive, and local leaders warn that the appearance of mass graves risks deepening trauma among families searching for missing relatives.

The discovery arrives as part of a wider humanitarian crisis across eastern Congo, where scores of armed factions compete over territory and mineral wealth along porous borders with Rwanda and Burundi. Displacement, food insecurity and the breakdown of local governance have amplified tensions between communities and armed actors, complicating efforts to gather forensic evidence and mount transparent investigations.

Provincial authorities have not released details on any forensic teams or international investigators being invited to examine the sites, and local civil society is pressing for independent access and for families to be informed. Officials in Kinshasa and commanders with the Congolese military did not immediately provide comment on the reported restrictions or on steps to secure the sites for forensic work.

The scale of the reported graves — 30 bodies in Kiromoni and 141 in Kavimvira — is likely to intensify calls from regional and international actors for an impartial inquiry that can determine when the killings occurred, establish the identities of the dead, and lay groundwork for accountability. For residents in Uvira, the immediate need is humanitarian support and clarity for families who say they have been searching for relatives since the December offensive.