An aid worker has succumbed to gunshot injuries in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where rebels supported by Rwanda have recently taken control of two significant cities and are attempting to expand their territory.
Jerry Muhindo Kavali, aged 49, sustained injuries two days prior when a bullet hit the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) office in Masisi, where he was employed. He was subsequently transported to a hospital in Goma for urgent medical care but unfortunately passed away from his injuries on Saturday.
His colleagues remember him as a person deeply committed to humanitarian efforts, noting that he “always had a smile on his face.”
The death of Kavali has sparked outrage among aid workers striving to assist the tens of thousands of Congolese individuals whose lives have been devastated by the ongoing conflict. “Even war has its rules,” stated MSF in reaction to the incident. The town of Masisi, where the MSF employee was fatally shot, has been the site of intense clashes between militias aligned with the Congolese army and the M23 and Alliance Fleuve Congo rebel groups. According to MSF’s head of programs, Stephan Goetghebuer, the bullet that claimed Kavali’s life was “one of many bullets to hit our premises over recent weeks.”
Key regions already under the control of M23 include the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu, and the rebels seem to be continuing their offensive. Eastern DR Congo, rich in mineral resources, has seen this struggle for dominance partly rooted in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The area has been embroiled in conflict for over three decades, and recent efforts to integrate rebels into the Congolese army have proven unsuccessful. Experts now express concern over the potential repercussions of this conflict on the broader East African region.
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On Friday, the UN Security Council passed a resolution denouncing the M23 offensive in eastern DR Congo, calling on Rwanda to cease its support for the rebels and demanding their immediate withdrawal from Congolese territory “without preconditions.” This week, the United States imposed sanctions on M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka and Rwandan minister James Kabarebe for their alleged involvement in the conflict.
