The arrests were made on Monday evening by officials from the Goma public prosecutor's office following a meeting chaired by Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani on October 6 in Goma.
The boat, carrying over 300 passengers and cargo, was en route to Kituku port near Goma City from Minova in South Kivu when it sank about 700 meters from its destination. The death toll has so far reached 34, and locals attribute the accident to overloading.
Today, authorities led by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Transport, Jean-Pierre Bemba revealed that 11 more bodies have been retreaved from the lake. Bemba says that the search is still ongoing.
Jean-Romuald Ekuka Lipopo, Divisional Commissioner and Vice Governor of North Kivu province released a statement confirming the death of 23 people and rescuing of 58.
On September 26,2024 (Thursday this week), UN Human Rights Watch released a report pinning the Rwandan army and the M23 rebels for indiscriminately shelling displacement camps and other densely populated areas near Goma City throughout 2024.
In a statement released by the army on Tuesday, the recovery and dislodging of M23 rebels from the villages during heavy fighting on Monday is a major victory to the unweaving commitment to restoring peace, security and territorial integrity in the eastern regions of DR Congo.
On Thursday night, Lawrence Kanyuka, the M23 political spokesperson released a statement accusing the FARDC and coalition of firing 122 Millimeter Mortar bombs against M23 positions.
According to reliable sources, Wazalendo fighters launched an assault on M23 positions in Kitchanga, targeting Kizimba and Rubona villages. The violence quickly spread to neighboring areas in the Bishusha groupement.
Reliable sources indicate that the fighting resumed on Sunday in Nyamitabo and surrounding areas. By Monday morning, gunfire had spread to Muheto, Kanzenze, and Kanyatsi in Bashali Kaembe Chiefdom. The Wazalendo coalition is under the command of General Gentil Tuungane.
In October 2023, the DR Congo government raised a concern accusing Uganda of annexing 8 8-kilometre area of Congolese soil located in Mungo locality, Busanza Groupement, Bwisha chiefdom Ritshuru territory onto Uganda.
Authorities, led by the Minister of Human Rights, Chantal Chambu Mwavita, explained that the victims, who were in displacement camps, succumbed to diseases like cholera, while others died of hunger.
On Sunday evening, M23-AFC rebels, through their political spokesperson, Lawrence Kanyuka, released a statement accusing FARDC and its allies of using fighter jets to launch assaults on M23 positions in Lubero territory, with reconnaissance missions extending to Rutshuru territory.
The clashes reportedly began around 5:00 AM, with M23's political spokesperson, Lawrence Kanyuka, confirming the intense fighting by 9:30 AM. In his statement, Kanyuka claimed that the government forces and their coalition had initiated the assault, and the M23 fighters were defending themselves.
General Sultan Makenga, the M23 rebels ‘military commander released a statement claiming that M23 had captured Kikubo near Kirumba and Kashasha towards Renga in the eastern direction of Bweremana.
In a report released on Wednesday, OCHA states that the recent glimmer of hope seems to be appearing on the horizon, with the gradual return of displaced people to Rutshuru territory.
In a statement signed by the government Spokesperson Patrick Katembwe Muyaya, the DR Congo government admits that the safety of civil air transport in the North Kivu region is under compromise through jamming attacks. Muyaya says that rebels carry out spoofing (sending false Global Positioning Systems (GPS) signals to disrupt air traffic).
Sematama released a statement on Friday arguing that some sanctions are laughable because he has no business with the United States since he stays in DR Congo.
