SW News: A recent United Nations report says that the recent butchering of civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by M23 militants was done in retaliation against an assault on them by government troops.

The most recent United Nations report demonstrates the level of violence that is aggravating an already dreadful humanitarian situation in eastern Congo. According to the report, rebels in eastern Congo killed at least 131 people on November 29 and inflicted "unspeakable violence" on civilians by shooting, stabbing, raping, and abducting them arbitrarily.

The UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, and the Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) found in a preliminary investigation into the November 29 massacres in the villages of Kishishe and Bambo that the slayings were carried out in response to an attack between M23 and rival armed groups.

Volker Turk, the UN human rights chief, said on Friday that he was "appalled" by the massacre of civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and that he plans to visit the country next year.

The M23 gained attention ten years ago when its fighters seized Goma, the largest city in the Congo's east, which borders Rwanda. The group takes its name from a March 23, 2009, peace agreement that the government is accused of failing to implement.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis met with Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege, a Congolese physician known for his work with sexual violence victims, on Friday, December 9. The pontiff is planning a trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in January. Mukwege has stated that he hopes the Pope's visit will "shed light on what is happening in the Congo."