The UN condemned the attacks, calling them a “flagrant violation of human rights and international humanitarian law” and asserting they may constitute a war crime.

At least 12 people, including children, were killed in bomb attacks targeting two camps for displaced people in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern province of North Kivu, local officials, an aid group, and the United Nations said.

The bombs hit the camps in Lac Vert and Mugunga, near the city of Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, the UN said in a statement on Friday. It called the attacks a “flagrant violation of human rights and international humanitarian law and may constitute a war crime”.

Lt. Colonel Ndjike Kaiko, a Congolese army spokesperson, in a statement to the Associated Press blamed the attacks on the M23 rebel group, which has alleged links to neighbouring Rwanda.

But in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), the M23 denied any role in the attacks and instead blamed Congolese forces.

A two-year offensive by the rebel group has moved closer to the eastern city of Goma in recent months, prompting thousands to seek refuge in the city from surrounding areas.

Aid group Save The Children said it was present at one of the camps when shells struck close to a busy marketplace ahead of their vehicle. It said dozens were injured, mostly women and children, and the death toll was still unclear.

A UN spokesperson, Jean Jonas Yaovi Tossa, said at least 12 people were killed in the attacks and more than 20 others injured.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, who was in Europe, promptly decided to return home on Friday following the bombings, according to a statement from his office.

Tshisekedi has long alleged that Rwanda is destabilising Congo by backing the M23 rebels. UN experts, along with the US State Department, have also accused Rwanda of backing the rebels. The Rwandan government, however, denies the claims.

Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Rwanda to cease its backing of the M23 group during a joint press conference with Tshisekedi in Paris.

The bombings follow the M23 group’s capture of the strategic mining town of Rubaya this week. The town holds deposits of tantalum, which is extracted from coltan, a key component in the production of smartphones.

The US Department of State strongly condemned the bombings, saying in a statement that the attack came from positions held by Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF) and the M23 rebel group.

“We are gravely concerned about the recent RDF and M23 expansion in eastern DRC,” it said. “[We] call on both parties to respect human rights and adhere to applicable obligations under international humanitarian law.”

The decades-long conflict in eastern Congo has produced one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with over 100 armed groups fighting in the region, mostly for land and control of mines with valuable minerals.

Some are fighting to try to protect their communities. Many groups are accused of carrying out mass killings, rapes, and other human rights violations. The violence has displaced about 7 million people, many beyond the reach of aid.