DR Congo crisis: North Kivu governor calms Goma residents after night gunfire

The governor of DR Congo’s North Kivu Province, Erasto Musanga Bahati, has assured residents of continued peace and stability following a gunfire exchange on the night of April 11. ALSO READ: AFC/M23 vows to neutralize threats against civilians in Walikale, Minembwe In a statement issued on April 12, Bahati confirmed that the incident, which occurred around 10 p.m. in Goma’s Lac Vert and Keshero neighbourhoods, was a confrontation between the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC/M23) rebel fighters and forces from a Congolese government coalition comprising Wazalendo, FDLR, and FARDC forces. “The Governor of North Kivu informs the population of Goma and surrounding areas that the gunfire heard last night was due to an attack by enemy coalitions on our positions. They were swiftly repelled by our forces,” the statement reads in part. Bahati urged the population to remain calm, stressing that the situation had been contained. “No need to worry. Your army, the ARC, has driven out the enemies who tried to destabilize your peace for more than an hour during the night,” he said. “Rest assured that your army is determined to guarantee peace and security.” ALSO READ: AFC/M23 warns of retaliation if Congolese army attacks persist in Walikale Rebel spokesperson Willy Ngoma also addressed the situation through his official X (formerly Twitter) account, stating: “After yet another provocation by the criminal coalition (FARDC, FDLR, Wazalendo, etc.) across several neighborhoods around Goma, the situation is now under control. Calm reigns. The lions remain vigilant. The defense and protection of the population is our duty.” Reports from the area also suggest that several Wazalendo fighters were captured alive during the failed incursion west of Goma. The AFC/M23 rebellion has vowed to uproot tribalism, nepotism, corruption, and the genocide ideology spread by the DR Congo-backed Rwandan genocidal militia, FDLR, among other vices, widespread in DR Congo. FDLR is a DR Congo-backed terrorist militia founded in mid-2000 by remnants of the masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda that poses an existential threat to the Congolese Tutsi community.

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DR Congo crisis: North Kivu governor calms Goma residents after night gunfire