Kishishe

By Thomas C. Thirkell

15 December 2025

Summary

In November 2022, M23 rebels backed by Rwandan officials carried out a deadly assault in Kishishe, North Kivu. Framed as a fight against government supporters, the massacre killed at least 171 people and saw widespread sexual violence against women and children.

Incident date

21 - 30 November 2022

Coordinates

1°11'02.1"S 29°27'12.0"E

Aggressor(s)

March 23 Movement

Casualties

171 confirmed, more likely

Location

North Kivu, DR Congo

Fighters of the M23 movement. A rebel group based in North Kivu, backed by Rwandan Officials (Human Rights Watch, 2023). The group, claimed to be set on defending the interests of the Tutsi people from Hutu militants of other aggressive other groups, also believes that the current DRC government is unfit for purpose and has no confidence in it, therefore must be overthrown (Britannica, 2025).

The November 2022 attacks were caused by a rivalry between the M23 movement and opposing local defense militia, defending their villages from the likes of the M23. The main opposing group, and thus, victims of this attack were directly allied with the Congolese army and therefore named ‘supporters’ of the Congolese Government.

The attack occurred in the village of Kishishe, pictured in Figure 1. M23 Militia conducted vigorous and systematic door to door searching of each house, slaughtering men and boys named ‘supporters’, some even of fighting age. Once these supporters had been killed, the rebels moved to their wives and daughters, raping and sexually assaulting them with little to no defense left in the village. One eyewitness accounts the worst portion of the attack occurring in the Adventist church, remembering seeing over 80 lifeless bodies (WeAfrica24, 2023).

The final numbers for the attack are disputed between the UN and the Congolese Government, but named confirmed deaths are said to be 171 (Amnesty International, 2023), with at least 66 women and children raped (WeAfrica24, 2023).

An aerial view of Kishishe, 1°01'46.5"S 29°13'07.9"E 10/02/2024 (Google Earth)

The attack not only had a devastating and long-lasting impact upon the village people but impacted the rest of the DRC. Displaced families relocating due to the constant turmoil. Figure 4 shows the camps created and grown due to rebel attacks such as the November attacks in Kishishe (Human Rights Watch, 2023). Furthermore, Figures 2 and 3 show Rusayo Displacement Camp, one of the many, in closer detail.

An aerial view of Rusayo displacement camps, 2.6km North of the city of Keshero. (Google, 2025)

Closer aerial view of Rusayo displacement camps (Google 2025)

Displacement camps grown and created due to rebel attacks in North Kivu, DRC (Human Rights Watch, 2023)

Two men pictured pointing at one of the many gravesites inside the village. This image captured nearby the Adventist Church. (Human Rights Watch, 2024)