Congolese rebels of the March 23 Movement/Alliance Fleuve Congo (M23/AFC) have accused the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and its allied forces of murdering five civilians using a grenade at Sange Market in Uvira Territory, South Kivu Province.
According to residents, the incident occurred on Thursday at around 6:30 p.m. when a grenade was thrown into the busy market and exploded. Five people died on the spot while several others sustained injuries.
The injured were rushed to Sange General Hospital for treatment.
On Friday, M23/AFC spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka released a statement on the killings, alleging that FARDC and its coalition deliberately fired the grenade into the market, killing 5 civilians, including women, and injuring many others.
Kanyuka also alleges that on the same day at around 7:45 p.m., FARDC launched another attack by throwing a bomb at a speedboat stationed at the port on Lake Tanganyika. He claimed that during the incident, two Banyamulenge women were abducted by Wazalendo militia fighters.
He describes the attacks as odious crimes and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, accusing the Kinshasa government of systematic human rights abuses and violations of the ceasefire agreement.
Kanyuka also claimed that authorities deliberately cut off internet access in Uvira and surrounding areas to prevent independent documentation of the alleged crimes. He says the M23/AFC strongly condemns what it described as terrorist, criminal, and barbaric acts and holds the Kinshasa government fully responsible.
The Statement in Full:
“On Thursday, January 29, 2026, around 6:30 p.m., the coalition forces of the Kinshasa regime carried out an extremely serious terrorist attack at the Sange market. A grenade was deliberately thrown into the midst of the civilian population, causing the death of five innocent people, including women, and injuring many others.
This act constitutes an odious crime and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. The same day, at 7:45 p.m., these forces struck again by launching a new terrorist attack against a SNCC speedboat stationed at the port, hurling a bomb at it. In the same context of targeted violence and persecution, two Banyamulenge women were abducted by Wazalendo militiamen, once again illustrating the strategy of terror, abductions, and unpunished crimes orchestrated by the Kinshasa regime and its proxies.
The AFC/M23 alerts the national and international community to the ongoing serious, systematic, and deliberate violations of human rights, as well as of the ceasefire, by the Kinshasa regime. In order to conceal these crimes and prevent any independent documentation, this regime has deliberately cut off access to the Internet in Uvira and its surroundings.
The AFC/M23 condemns in the strongest possible terms these terrorist, criminal, and barbaric acts, and holds the Kinshasa regime solely and fully responsible for these crimes.”
Separately, M23 rebel leader Bertrand Bisimwa also issued a brief statement questioning the credibility of the ceasefire announced by FARDC.
“As members of the ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism, what ceasefire are they referring to?” Bisimwa questioned. “Is it the one that allows the Kinshasa regime to sabotage the peace process, annihilate our villages, massacre our populations, and boast about it online?” Bisimwa questioned.
By press time, FARDC had not issued an official response to the accusations.
Sange Commune, located in the Ruzizi Plain, has been considered a fallback area for M23/AFC fighters following their withdrawal from the lakeside city of Uvira and surrounding areas, reportedly at the request of the United States to allow peace talks with the Congolese government.
Despite the withdrawal, fighting has continued in several parts of South Kivu. On Thursday, FARDC and Wazalendo militias announced that they had recaptured Point Zero locality in Fizi Territory from M23/AFC rebels and their ally, the Twirwaneho group.
In the past two days, heavy fighting has also been reported in Walungu Territory. The Congolese army also carried out airstrikes against alleged M23/AFC positions at Mindjendje near Mpety in Kisimba Groupement, after repelling a rebel attack at Chanjikiro in Walikale Territory, North Kivu Province.
Since the group’s resurgence in 2022 under leaders Bertrand Bisimwa and Emmanuel Sultan Makenga, the Congolese government has repeatedly accused Rwanda of backing M23, claims denied by both Kigali and the rebels.
M23 says its objective is to fight corruption, xenophobia, and discrimination within Congo’s political leadership. Earlier this year, the group launched a rapid offensive across eastern Congo, capturing major towns and raising fears of a wider regional conflict.
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