Authorities say the governor of eastern Congo’s North Kivu province has died from injuries sustained in fighting on the front line as M23 rebels close in on Goma.
North Kivu is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital city is Goma.
The military governor of Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province has died from gunshot wounds suffered on the front line during an offensive by M23 rebels, the army said on Friday.
KINSHASA (Reuters) - The military governor of North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo has died from injuries suffered on the frontline during an offensive by M23 rebels in the east, a government source and an internal UN report seen by Reuters confirmed on Friday.
The UN mission in DR Congo, MONUSCO, is relocating administrative staff and others in North Kivu that can continue performing their duties from elsewhere in response to the deteriorating security situation and intensifying hostilities involving the non-State armed group M23, a Rwandan-backed movement fighting against the Congolese Government.
The violence in eastern Congo has escalated. Near Goma in North Kivu, 13 peacekeepers were killed by M23 rebels, while Congo has broken off relations with Rwanda. The North Kivu region is rich in gold and coltan.
Civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are at increasing risk as the abusive M23 armed group, supported by the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), approaches Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -Rwandan-backed rebels marched into the centre of east Congo's largest city on Monday, witnesses said, in the latest escalation of decades of conflict in
Residents in eastern Congo's largest city, Goma, woke up on Monday morning uncertain about who is in control of the city, which Rwanda-backed rebels claimed to have captured.
The three-year insurgency by the Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 has intensified, and the U.N. warned the violence could spill into a wider war.
During an emergency UN Security Council meeting, Kinshasa demands immediate withdrawal of Rwandan troops from Congolese territory and imposition of sanctions against officials involved - Anadolu Ajans