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On Wednesday, the deputy governor of Bwito (in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo) Isaac Kabira said that at least 60 bodies were found in the towns of Kashali and Kazaroho. The killings are traced back to the rebels of the March 23 Movement (M23), a military group composed largely of Congolese belonging to the Tutsi ethnic group which has been fighting in the region for ten years and has increased the number of attacks in the last year. kidnappings and killings in eastern DRC.
The M23 is currently the main rebel group fighting against the government authorities of the DRC, born from the merger of factions from three pre-existing armed groups: the Allied Democratic Forces (recently united with the Islamic State), the Rally for Congolese Democracy and the National Congress for the Defense of the People (Ncdp), one of the main Tutsi armed militias, formed by veterans of the Rwandan civil war.
The North Kivu region has been contested for decades by over 120 armed groups, both for political reasons and for control of the land and the precious mineral mines concentrated in the region. At the beginning of April, the M23 group withdrew from most of the territories it had conquered over the last year, but locals still denounce their presence in various areas.