Maj Gen Cirimwami killed by M23

The Governor of North Kivu Province, Maj Gen Peter Cirimwami, was shot dead by the M23 armed group in the Kasengezi area, as confirmed by its political spokesman, Lawrence Kanyuka, on January 24, 2025.

Through the X website, Kanyuka said: “The Commander-in-Chief of the FDLR army, General Chirimwami, is dead. He was killed in Kasengezi while visiting the front lines to pose for a photo with them.”

Maj Gen Cirimwami has often been seen as a strong supporter of groups including Wazalendo and FDLR, and has openly shown his involvement in the cooperation between the DRC army and these groups, especially in the war they are facing against the M23 rebel group.

Several expert reports have indicated that Gen Maj Cirimwami was the mastermind behind the FDLR’s alliance with the DRC government and the country’s military.

On January 23, 2025, the M23 armed group announced that it was about to capture the city of Goma, considered the capital of North Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

M23 political spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka said that the residents of the city were very upset and were waiting for their release.

On the morning of January 23, 2025, M23 fighters had confronted a joint force of DRC forces in the city of Sake, a little over 20 kilometers towards Goma.

The DRC military sent warplanes to areas near Sake to clear M23 fighters from the city. Governor Maj Gen Peter Cirimwami had gone to attack the troops but it was in vain, and he was later shot, as M23 confirmed.

M23 is not only in Sake, as it also controls other areas around the city of Goma, including Minova near Lake Kivu and Kibumba in Nyiragongo territory.