Major General Peter Chirimwami, the military governor of North Kivu Province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), was killed on Thursday, January 23, in a battlefield encounter with M23 rebels, according to a statement from the rebel group.
Maj. Gen. Chirimwami, who was based in the provincial capital of Goma, reportedly traveled to the frontlines near the town of Sake, an area that has been a flashpoint in recent weeks as government forces and the M23 rebels continue to clash.
“General Chirimwami is dead,” M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka wrote on X (formerly Twitter) late Thursday. The spokesperson alleged that Chirimwami was the “Commander-in-Chief of the FDLR,” referring to the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a militia group linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and reportedly allied with the Congolese armed forces.
The M23 claims to be fighting to protect civilians from the FDLR, which has operated in eastern DR Congo for nearly three decades. Kanyuka further alleged that Chirimwami was killed in Kasengezi “while visiting the front lines to have his photo taken.”
Chirimwami’s death marks a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict, as the general had only been appointed military governor in September 2023.
Crisis in Goma
The situation in Goma, a city of approximately 2 million people, remains tense as M23 rebels threaten to advance. Hospitals in the city are overwhelmed with casualties from the battlefield, with reports indicating hundreds of injured civilians were brought in on Thursday.
Thousands of residents have fled toward Goma, fearing an intensification of the violence. The conflict has already displaced hundreds of thousands since the M23 began its offensive in 2021, capturing large swathes of mineral-rich territory in eastern DR Congo.
The fighting, which briefly subsided in late July 2023, resumed with ferocity in October and worsened toward the end of the year.
International Concerns and Accusations
The government of DR Congo and the United Nations have repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels. UN experts estimate that Rwanda has between 3,000 and 4,000 troops operating alongside the group in the region, an allegation that Rwanda has neither confirmed nor denied.
The conflict has raised fears of a broader regional war. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for de-escalation, urging “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.”
As tensions escalate, the international community faces mounting pressure to address the conflict and its devastating impact on civilians in eastern DR Congo.
