Mass graves found in eastern Congo after rebel withdrawal

Two mass graves containing a total at least 172 bodies have been found in the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern city of Uvira, following the withdrawal of the AFC/M23 rebel group, a senior government official said.



The rebels briefly captured Uvira, a transit hub on Lake Tanganyika, near the Burundian border, in December. They began withdrawing a week later under U.S. pressure and the Congolese army re-entered the city last month.



A spokesperson for AFC/M23 did not respond to requests for comment on Friday. Local authorities did not say how the people died, and Reuters was not able to independently verify the circumstances of the deaths.



Jean-Jacques Purusi, the Kinshasa-appointed governor of South ‌Kivu province, where Uvira is located, told local reporters the graves had been found in the Kilomoni and Kavimvira neighbourhoods. One contained 31 bodies, the other 141, he added in comments on Tuesday that were recorded and broadcast in the country on Thursday.