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

The Military Governor of North Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reportedly died from injuries sustained during fighting on the front line, local authorities say, as M23 rebel fighters close in on the provincial capital, Goma.

The circumstances around the death of Major General, Peter Cirimwami, were unclear, but Cirimwami, who led army operations in restive North Kivu in the eastern DRC, visited troops on the front line in Kasengezi, about 13km (eight miles) from Goma, on Thursday, the day of his death.

Aljazeera reported that his death was confirmed by a government source, a military source and a United Nations source on Friday, all of whom spoke to the media on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak about the matter publicly.

M23 has made significant territorial gains in recent weeks, encircling Goma, which has a population of about two million people and is a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts.

The UN warned that the raging conflict in North Kivu had displaced more than 400,000 people this year and could spark a regional war.
“The number of displacements is now over 400,000 people this year alone, almost double the number reported last week,” Matthew Saltmarsh, a spokesman for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said at a news briefing in Geneva on Friday.

Saltmarsh said the UNHCR is “gravely concerned about the safety and security of civilians and internally displaced people” in the east of the country.

“Heavy bombardments caused families from at least nine displacement sites on the periphery of Goma to flee into the city to seek safety and shelter,” he said, adding that many were living rough.

On Thursday, panic spread in Goma as rebels took control of Sake, a town 27km (16 miles) northwest of the provincial capital and on a road that is one of the last main routes into the city still under government control, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

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