M23 rebels kill Governor Peter Chirimwami

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have killed a military governor as they advance across eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, reports say.

Fighting between M23 and the DR Congo army has intensified since the beginning of the year, with the rebels taking control of more territory than ever before.

North Kivu Governor Peter Cirimwami was seriously wounded by M23 fighters during a visit to the frontline on Thursday, according to United Nations documents cited by Reuters and AFP news agencies.

More than 400,000 people have fled their homes since the start of the year as M23 advanced in the city of Goma, the UN reported.

On their way to Goma, the M23 captured the towns of Masisi and Minova.

More than 200 civilians have been killed in areas captured by the M23, local leaders said Thursday.

And according to the United Nations, two children died after bombs fell in a camp for displaced people.

The unrest prompted Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi to cut short a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, flying back on Thursday for urgent security meetings with top officials.

The fall of Goma — a city of more than a million near the Rwandan border — would be a major blow to the rebels. They briefly seized the city in a 2012 uprising, but withdrew after a deal was reached.

Many roads leading to the city are blocked, raising concerns that the city may run out of food supplies.

“The town of Goma is in a vice, the town is suffocated, there is no more entry, there is no exit… this population is suffering terribly,” local union leader Bahala Shamavu Innocent told the BBC.

Espoir Ngalukiye, a member of the opposition party Ensemble pour la Republique, is also concerned about access to food.

“We are not really safe in Goma,” said Mr Ngalukiye. “No one who lives in Goma can tell you that they are not afraid.”

On Thursday, the rebels took over the nearby town of Sake, according to the United Nations, the United Kingdom and several other sources.

But the Congolese army said it had repulsed the attack on Sake, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Goma.

The residents of Sake and the wider area – many of whom were displaced by the conflict – have fled their homes.

People are fleeing with mattresses and other essentials on their backs, and dozens are crammed into wooden boats.

Thousands of terrified families have fled to Goma, where hospitals have been overwhelmed with wounded civilians.

M23 has controlled large parts of the mineral-rich eastern Congo since 2021. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced.

Last year, moreover, it was feared that the rebels would take Goma. There was a lull in the fighting at the end of July, but heavy fighting resumed in October and worsened towards the end of the year.

DR Congo and the UN claim that M23 is backed by Rwanda. Rwandan authorities neither confirm nor deny this.

UN experts say Rwanda has between 3,000 and 4,000 troops working alongside M23 in eastern Congo.

On Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the current conflict risks escalating into a wider regional war.

Mr. Guterres “calls on all actors to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to end all forms of support to armed groups,” he said in a statement.