ISTANBUL / KIGALI, Rwanda 

• New governor appointed after former governor Maj. Gen. Peter Cirimwami was killed fighting against M23 rebels
• Hundreds of workers of international organizations, including UN, World Bank, flee to Rubavu district in Rwanda

Congolese authorities Wednesday announced that Maj. Gen. Somo Kakule Evariste was appointed as the new governor of the conflict-hit North Kivu province amid a rebel offensive in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

This appointment comes following the death of former governor Maj. Gen. Peter Cirimwami, who was killed last Friday fighting against M23 rebels.

“Homeland or death, we will win,” said Congolese armed forces as they announced the appointment of the new governor.

Kinshasa blamed Rwanda for the death of Cirimwami.

The armed forces reiterated “full commitment to the restoration of state authority, neutralization of the armed groups and the protection of the citizens” in the province.

Gen. Evariste’s appointment comes as the M23 rebel group launched a major offensive in Goma city, the capital of the province, last week.

Allegedly backed by Rwanda, the rebel group has captured key towns but it remains unconfirmed whether they control Goma city.

Kigali denies its supports M23 rebels.

Since last week, at least 42 people, including 17 foreign peacekeepers, have been killed in Goma, with hundreds injured in the ongoing clashes between the Congolese army and rebel forces.

Rwanda claims that at least nine of its citizens were killed in an alleged cross-border exchange of gunfire from Goma.

More than 500,000 people have been displaced in Goma while the humanitarian situation has further deteriorated.

Separately, M23 political head Bertrand Bisimwa claimed Wednesday on X that the last "pockets of insecurity in the city of Goma ... (were) brought under control by our soldiers."   

UN, World Bank staffers cross into Rwanda 

Hundreds of workers of international organizations Wednesday continued to flee to Rubavu district in Rwanda, amid clashes in bordering Goma city.

Migration officials said Rwanda received 40 World Bank staffers from Goma.

The country's Foreign Ministry said Rwanda facilitated the safe return of 45 drivers from Burundi, Tanzania, and Kenya, transferring them to their respective embassies and high commissions in Kigali. The drivers had reportedly been stranded in Goma, Congo, before being safely evacuated to Rwanda.

Residents and local officials said the situation at the two Congo-Rwanda common borders was calm. 

On Tuesday, Ozonnia Ojielo, the UN resident coordinator in Rwanda, told reporters that about 1,800 UN staff and dependents have been evacuated to Rwanda.

The M23 group claims that its fight is driven by grievances about alleged discrimination against Tutsi communities in the region. They claim that the Congolese government has not addressed their concerns, particularly about their safety and integration into the national military.

The Congolese government, on the other hand, accuses the M23 of destabilizing the region with external support, primarily from neighboring Rwanda.