While the World Talks Peace, Genocide Unfolds: DRC Army and Militias Accused of Ethnic Cleansing Against Banyamulenge in Rurambo >> MPA Sounds the Alarm

As diplomatic cameras focus on the Doha peace talks, a brutal truth is bleeding through the cracks of international silence. While officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) posture for peace, massacres, military offensives, and ethnic cleansing continue unabated in the east of the country. 

According to Mahoro Peace Association (MPA), one of the most credible grassroots voices documenting atrocities in the region, the Banyamulenge minority is once again the target of a deliberate campaign of extermination, this time in Rurambo, South Kivu. 

Even more damning, revelations from the AFC/M23 rebel coalition suggest the DRC government’s peace narrative is nothing more than a smokescreen to buy time and launch fresh offensives. 

In an urgent statement issued earlier today, the Mahoro Peace Association (MPA) confirmed that FARDC, the DRC’s national army, alongside the FDLR militia, Wazalendo groups, and elements of the Burundian army (FDNB), launched a coordinated military operation in Rurambo, home to a vulnerable Banyamulenge community. Eyewitnesses describe homes burned, civilians hunted, and entire villages razed. 

“This is not a counter-insurgency,” said a spokesperson for MPA. “This is calculated ethnic cleansing—another stage in the decades-long attempt to wipe the Banyamulenge off the map.” 

MPA believes this campaign is unfolding under the cover of the Doha peace talks. As international mediators focus on political dialogue, the DRC government and its armed allies are committing genocide by omission, erasing communities while pretending to negotiate peace. 

In a press briefing on July 3, 2025, Benjamin Mbonimpa, the head of the AFC/M23 delegation attending the Doha negotiations, revealed explosive allegations about the DRC government’s conduct during the peace process. 

“Each time we came to Qatar, we expected to sign a ceasefire. That was always the goal,” Mbonimpa stated. “But Kinshasa repeatedly rejected it. Their representatives came without credentials, without commitment, and without sincerity.” 

Mbonimpa claimed that while seated at the negotiation table, the DRC was simultaneously plotting military offensives against M23-held territory. He pointed to the arrival of foreign mercenaries in Kisangani, including operatives from Colombia and the United States, allegedly preparing for combat operations against rebel-controlled areas. 

“We are ready for peace, but Kinshasa uses peace talks as a distraction,” he said. 

He further alleged that the DRC government continues to arm and fund militias, including Mai-Mai and Wazalendo, providing them with drones and heavy weaponry to forcibly reclaim territories. 

Adding insult to injury, Mbonimpa highlighted the DRC delegation’s lack of credibility, stating that unlike the M23, who always presented official authorization documents, the government’s delegates had no proof of mandate, and often behaved more like activists than negotiators. 

Despite claims from Kinshasa that the AFC/M23 coalition refuses peace, the group has reportedly declared unilateral ceasefires five times since 2022. The DRC government, however, has allegedly refused to reciprocate a single one. 

This is where the hypocrisy burns brightest. 

“You cannot accuse us of war while you’re rejecting every peace agreement behind closed doors,” Mbonimpa said. 

MPA supports this version of events, stating that the Rurambo massacre coincided with peace talks, reinforcing the idea that DRC uses diplomacy as a decoy for deadly operations. 

With Rurambo in flames and negotiations in tatters, Mahoro Peace Association is urgently demanding: An international investigation into the Rurambo atrocities, Targeted sanctions on DRC officials and military commanders involved, Immediate humanitarian aid for displaced Banyamulenge familiesand An end to false diplomatic engagements with a government acting in bad faith 

MPA continued: “This is not a local issue, This is a regional crisis with international consequences. Peace is not built on lies and bloodshed. It’s built on truth and accountability.”