Military Governor of An M23 rebel fighter has died of injuries sustained while fighting on the front line in North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), local officials say. are close to the provincial capital, Goma.
The circumstances surrounding the death of Major General Peter Siramwami were unclear, but Mr Siramwami, who led army operations in North Kivu, rested in the eastern DRC on Thursday, about 13 kilometers (8 miles) from Goma. ) visited the troops at a distance of , the day of his death.
His death was confirmed on Friday by a government source, a military source and a United Nations source, all of whom spoke to the media on condition of anonymity because they have not spoken publicly about the matter. I was not authorized to speak.
M23 has made significant territorial gains in recent weeks, encircling Goma, which has a population of about 200,000 and is a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts.
On Thursday, panic broke out in Goma as rebels stormed the town 27 kilometers (16 miles) northwest of the provincial capital and on a road that is still under government control, one of the last main routes into the city. -General Antonio Guterres.
The United Nations has warned that the conflict in northern Kiwi has displaced more than 400,000 people this year and could spark a regional war.
Matthew Saltmarsh, a spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told a news briefing in Geneva, “This year alone, the number of refugees has increased from just over 400,000 to over 400,000. There are more people,” Friday.
Salmarsh said UNHCR was “gravely concerned about the safety and security of civilians and the safety of internally displaced people” in the east of the country.
“Heavy bombardment has caused families from at least nine displaced areas on the outskirts of Goma to flee to the city for safety and shelter,” he said.
The United States, Britain and France on Friday urged their citizens to leave Goma while airports and borders remained open, issuing the advice in online statements or in direct messages sent by email or SMS. .
M23 has been accused of a wide range of atrocities, including rape. More than two million people have been forced from their homes since the conflict resumed three years ago.
“We fled as a precaution because when the enemy reaches our village, they will forcefully recruit many young people,” Molerwa Bagoma Dustin, a displaced resident from Mukwija, told Al Jazeera.
M23 is one of about 100 armed groups seeking to gain a foothold in mineral-rich eastern DRC along the border with Rwanda in a decades-long conflict that has sparked one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. have given rise to crises.
That month, M23 captured the towns of Manuwa, Kitel and Masisi, west of Goma. M23 captured Goma in 2012 and controlled it for more than a week.
The DRC, the UN and UN experts have accused Rwanda of backing the M23, which is mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis who defected from the Congolese army more than a decade ago.
The Rwandan government has denied the claims but last year admitted it had troops and missile systems in eastern DRC to protect it, prompting a Congolese military build-up near the border. What did
Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb, reporting from Nairobi, Kenya, said many who have fled the fighting were living through M23’s 2012 offensive and fear the group.
“We’ve met people in the camps who say they don’t want to live under what they see as foreign occupation,” he said.
But he said the refugee camps were “notorious for poor sanitary conditions and widespread sexual violence”.
