By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The military governor of North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has died from gunshot injuries following an attack by the M23 rebel group, a government source and a U.N. report confirmed on Friday.
Major General Peter Cirimwami Nkuba, who had led the province since 2023, succumbed to his injuries on Thursday, Reuters quoted the government as saying.
He was injured while supervising troops 20 kilometres from the provincial capital, Goma, according to an internal U.N. report. “It is reported that he subsequently died this morning while being taken by aircraft from Goma for further treatment,” the report added.
The rebels are advancing on two fronts near Goma in the nation’s turbulent east, forcing tens of thousands to flee. The U.N. has also warned that the violence could escalate into a wider regional conflict.
Fighting has intensified in Congo’s mineral-rich east since the beginning of the year, with the Tutsi-led M23 group seizing more territory than ever before.
On Friday, the rebel Congo River Alliance (AFC), which includes M23, announced plans to capture Goma, a city with a population of over one million.
The DRC and the U.N. have accused neighbouring Rwanda of sponsoring the three-year insurgency by supplying troops and weapons.
M23 derives its name from a March 23, 2009, agreement between the Congolese government and former rebels. The group claims the government violated the deal and insists they are defending Tutsi interests against ethnic Hutu militias, some of whose leaders were involved in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The number of people displaced by the fighting this year has doubled to 400,000 within the past week, according to the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR), which also warned that hospitals are nearing full capacity.
“This offensive has a devastating toll on the civilian population and heightened the risk of a broader regional war,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated on Thursday.
