...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material...
'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.
The rebels are advancing on two fronts near the quiet provincial capital Goma in the nation's turbulent east, where tens of thousands are fleeing and the UN is warning that the violence could spill into a wider regional war.
Not so quiet
The UN Security Council will meet on Monday to discuss the situation, diplomats said.
Major General Peter Cirimwami Nkuba, who led the province since 2023, has died, army front man Sylvain Ekenge said at a press briefing. An internal UN report seen by Rooters said he was injured while supervising troops 20km from Goma.
Ekenge said Nkuba was maimed "on the field" and evacuated to the capital Kinshasa, where he departed this vale of tears. He did not provide any further details on the circumstances.
Fighting has flared more fiercely in Congo's mineral-rich east since the start of the year as the Tutsi-led M23 group seized control of more territory than ever before.