Military governor of DRC’s North Kivu province killed in M23 rebel assault

Local authorities accidental Major General Peter Cirimwami dies aft being wounded connected the beforehand lines.

The subject politician of North Kivu state successful the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has died from injuries sustained during warring connected the beforehand line, section authorities say, arsenic M23 rebel fighters adjacent successful connected the provincial capital, Goma.

The circumstances astir the decease of Major General Peter Cirimwami were unclear, but Cirimwami, who led service operations successful restive North Kivu successful the eastbound DRC, visited troops connected the beforehand enactment successful Kasengezi, astir 13km (8 miles) from Goma, connected Thursday, the time of his death.

His decease was confirmed by a authorities source, a subject root and a United Nations root connected Friday, each of whom spoke to the media connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorised to talk astir the substance publicly.

M23 has made important territorial gains successful caller weeks, encircling Goma, which has a colonisation of astir 2 cardinal radical and is simply a determination hub for information and humanitarian efforts.

On Thursday, panic dispersed successful Goma arsenic rebels took power of Sake, a municipality 27km (16 miles) northwest of the provincial superior and connected a roadworthy that is 1 of the past main routes into the metropolis inactive nether authorities control, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The UN warned that the raging struggle successful North Kivu had displaced much than 400,000 radical this twelvemonth and could spark a determination war.

“The fig of displacements is present implicit 400,000 radical this twelvemonth alone, astir treble the fig reported past week,” Matthew Saltmarsh, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said astatine a quality briefing successful Geneva connected Friday.

Saltmarsh said the UNHCR is “gravely acrophobic astir the information and information of civilians and internally displaced people” successful the eastbound of the country.

“Heavy bombardments caused families from astatine slightest 9 displacement sites connected the periphery of Goma to fly into the metropolis to question information and shelter,” helium said, adding that galore were surviving rough.

The United States, the United Kingdom and France connected Friday called connected their nationals to permission Goma portion airports and borders are inactive open, issuing the proposal successful online statements oregon successful messages sent straight by email oregon SMS.

M23 has been accused of wide atrocities, including rape. More than 2 cardinal radical person been forced from their homes since the struggle restarted 3 years ago.

“We fled arsenic a precaution due to the fact that we cognize that erstwhile the force arrives successful our village, they volition forcibly enlistee galore young people,” Mumulirwa Baguma Destin, a displaced nonmigratory from Mukwija, told Al Jazeera.

M23 is 1 of astir 100 equipped groups that person been vying for a foothold successful the mineral-rich eastbound DRC on the borderline with Rwanda successful a decades-long struggle that has created 1 of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.

This month, M23 captured the towns of Minova, Katale and Masisi, westbound of Goma. M23 seized Goma successful 2012 and controlled it for much than a week.

The DRC, the UN and UN experts impeach Rwanda of backing M23, which is chiefly composed of taste Tutsis who broke distant from the Congolese service much than a decennary ago.

Rwanda’s authorities denies the claims but past twelvemonth admitted that it has troops and rocket systems successful the eastbound DRC to safeguard its security, pointing to a build-up of Congolese forces adjacent the border.

Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb, reporting from Nairobi successful Kenya, said galore radical who person fled the warring lived done M23’s 2012  violative and are terrified of the group.

“We’ve met radical successful camps who accidental they don’t privation to unrecorded nether what they spot arsenic a overseas occupation,” helium said.

But helium said the exile camps are besides “notorious for mediocre sanitary conditions and for wide intersexual violence”.

Source

:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies