East Congo’s rebel-held city of Bukavu is seeing an increase in mob violence

Following the army’s retreat, vigilante violence has increased in the rebel-held city of Bukavu, DRC, killing at least 11 people in attacks over the previous day, according to witnesses and a civil society activist on Thursday.

In the eastern Congo, M23 rebels supported by Rwanda are attempting to establish their own government while proving they can bring peace back to the city and other areas under their control.

Retraining hundreds of Congolese police personnel to operate under M23’s command has been part of that endeavor.

Because the city’s police force has not intervened, citizens are taking matters into their own hands, according to Amos Bisimwa, a human rights activist based in Bukavu.

“A police squad was dispatched for ideological instruction, we were informed. In order to continue upholding public order and, more importantly, to step in when mob justice is involved, we want to see this police force return to Bukavu,” he stated.

On Wednesday and Thursday, 11 people were killed in vigilante attacks, according to his group, the Observatory of Parliamentary and Governmental Actions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

People who were killed have been charged with crimes like witchcraft, armed robbery, and theft.

on several instances, victims’ burned bodies have been abandoned on the streets, attracting large crowds.

Moke Mwayuma, whose brother was burned alive after being charged with stealing, expressed sorrow over his passing and insisted that he was innocent.

“He isn’t a criminal. What did he do wrong? We are unsure. She added, “We discovered the fire there, and he was burning in it.”

South Kivu province’s M23-appointed deputy governor, Dunia Masumbuko Bwenge, reported “several cases” of vigilante attacks “caused by the behavior of a population that feels threatened by these criminals – these thieves who kill, steal, and also commit sexual violence.”

The army retreated on February 16 and M23 moved into central Bukavu.

Rooted in the struggle for control of Congo’s abundant natural wealth and the spilling of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide into Congo, the M23 advance is the most severe escalation in over ten years of the long-running conflict in eastern Congo.

Rwanda denies claims that it provides armed and military support to M23, as made by the Congo, the UN, and Western nations. According to the statement, it is protecting itself from a Hutu militia that is battling the Congolese troops.