The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo announced today that 272 civilians were killed in a massacre in the eastern city of Kishish last week. The government blamed the M23 rebel group for the massacre, which denied responsibility.
The United Nations said last week it had received reports of a large number of civilian casualties during clashes between the M23 and local militias in Kisish on November 29, but did not specify how many people were killed.
The Congolese army and M23, a Tutsi-led rebel group, have been fighting in the east of the country for months.