KIGALI, Rwanda 

M23 rebels killed more than 140 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in July, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday.

The massacres took place in at least 14 villages and farming areas near Virunga National Park, eastern Congo, between July 10 and 30, according to a report from HRW.

“Credible reports indicate the number of people killed in Rutshuru territory since July may exceed 300, among the worst atrocities by the M23 since its resurgence in late 2021,” the rights group said.

The victims included local residents and farmers, including women and children, in their villages, fields, and near the Rutshuru River, it said.

Citing witness accounts, the UN and military sources, the report said the Rwandan military was also "involved in the M23 operations.”

“The M23 armed group, which has Rwandan government backing, attacked over a dozen villages and farming areas in July and committed dozens of summary executions of primarily Hutu civilians,” said Clementine de Montjoye, senior Great Lakes researcher at HRW.

“Unless those responsible for these war crimes, including at the highest levels, are appropriately investigated and punished, these atrocities will only intensify.”

There was no immediate reaction from Rwanda on the accusations.

But the rights group said it interviewed 36 people, including 25 witnesses, as well as local activists, medical workers, military and UN personnel, and analyzed relevant videos and photographs.

The report came on the backdrop of a delayed peace agreement between the Congolese government and M23 rebels.

The two sides had set Aug. 18 as the deadline to reach a peace agreement mediated by Qatar.

The Congolese army on Tuesday accused M23 rebels of repeatedly attacking its positions in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

On the same day, the M23 accused Congo’s military of repeated ceasefire violations.

Earlier this month, the UN human rights office, citing firsthand accounts, said M23 rebels killed at least 319 civilians in a series of attacks in four villages in Congo’s North Kivu province in July.

The UN, Kinshasa, and others accuse neighboring Rwanda of supporting M23, which Kigali denies.

Rwanda, on Aug. 11, denied that its military had aided the killing of civilians in eastern Congo farms as alleged by the UN rights office.

The rebel group, which is at the heart of the conflict in eastern Congo, controls significant territory, including the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu, which it seized earlier this year.