Congo’s governor has died in a standoff with rebels in the capital, officials say.
The governor of eastern Congo’s North Kivu state has died from injuries sustained in the battle, authorities said on Friday as M23 rebels closed in on the state capital.
M23 has made significant territorial gains in recent weeks, encircling Goma, home to nearly two million people and the center of regional security and humanitarian efforts.
The circumstances surrounding the death of Major General Peter Sirimwami are unclear, but Sirimwami, who led the army’s operations in North Kivu, visited troops on the Kasengezi front, 13 kilometers from Goma, on the day of his death.
His death was confirmed Thursday by a government source, a military source and the United Nations on Friday, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. He said the governor died of injuries to his forehead at the hospital.
Terror spread in Goma on Thursday when rebels took control of Sake, 27 kilometers from the provincial capital and one of the last main roads in the city still under government control.
M23 is one of about 100 militant groups fighting to take control of mineral-rich eastern Congo on the Rwandan border, in a decade-long war and the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. More than seven million people have been displaced by the conflict.
Earlier this month, the M23 captured the towns of Minova, Katale and Masisi west of Goma.
M23 took control of Goma in 2012 and controlled it for more than a week.
Congolese, US and UN experts accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23, which is mainly made up of Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army a decade ago.
The Rwandan government has denied the claim but last year admitted it had troops and missiles in eastern Congo to secure it, signaling a Congolese military build-up near the border. UN experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo.
Stress, conflicts
The city of Goma was gripped by dramatic tension on Friday as clashes broke out on the outskirts of the city between Congolese armed forces and the M23.
The fighting is in Kibumba, 25 kilometers north of Goma, and in the western Sake area. More than 178,000 people have fled the M23 in the past two weeks.
Alliance Gentil, 25, was among dozens displaced on the road from Sake to Goma on Friday. Sitting next to her property on her water container, baby on her back, she said she was tired of constantly running away.
“I run away but I don’t know where to go,” said the mother of two, who said she ran away twice in the past month.
The frontline near Goma is only a few dozen meters away from Lushagala and Bulengo displaced camps, causing panic among people seeking safety near the provincial capital.
Tens of thousands have arrived in recent weeks in camps in and around Goma, home to nearly 600,000 displaced people, according to the UN refugee agency.
The explosion of heavy weapons echoed across the entire tire on Friday. Many shops and stores remained closed and police were deployed on the main roads of the city. Military checkpoints were set up in the city and checked all vehicles.
