Authorities said the sites contained at least 171 bodies....

Congolese authorities and civil society groups alleged 'mass graves' had been uncovered in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo after the withdrawal of the M23 group from parts of Uvira, as the conflict continued despite a US-mediated peace effort.

According to provincial officials, two mass graves were discovered in the Kiromoni and Kavimvira neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Uvira.

Footage filmed on Monday February 2, 2026, showed bones scattered across a forested area, with small rocks and open pits which resembled dug graves.

Jean-Jacques Purusi, the Kinshasa-appointed governor of South Kivu province, said one grave contained 31 bodies and the other 141. His remarks, recorded earlier in the week, were broadcast nationally on Thursday February 26, 2026.

"It is not only in Kavimvira that there are mass graves [...] People have been killed everywhere, massacred everywhere, in Kavimvira as in Mulongwe, in Mulongwe as in Kasenga, everywhere in the city. And that is why we demand that the government conduct rigorous investigations to uncover all the mass graves in Uvira and determine the number of people massacred, in order to alert the international community," said Alphonse Mufariji, an activist with the Citizen Movement Against Anti-Values.

An activist Alphonse Mufariji alleged that individuals suspected of links to the government or pro-government militias known as Wazalendo were arrested and were 'disappeared'.

"When someone is suspected they are arrested and disappear just like that. This is their modus operandi, which we condemn," he said.

Mapezi Manyebwa, president of the Synergy of Civil Societies of Uvira, said many young people and women detained by M23 had never been returned to their families.

"Even their bodies have not been recovered," he said, urging authorities to 'intensify efforts' to locate additional burial sites beyond the two already identified.

Local politician Alain Mavara echoed those concerns, saying residents fear more graves may be uncovered, including in hard-to-reach areas such as the Ruzizi Plain. He called on the government to support affected families and appealed to the international community to closely monitor the situation to ensure accountability.

M23 fighters briefly captured Uvira, a key transit hub on Lake Tanganyika near the Burundian border, in December before withdrawing under US pressure. Congolese forces re-entered the city last month, but clashes between government troops and M23 have continued across North and South Kivu, with both sides accused of violating the truce.