Boat fleeing rebel offensive capsizes in Congo, killing 22

KINSHASA, Congo — A boat carrying people fleeing the ongoing rebel advance in eastern Congo has capsized, killing 22 people, authorities said Thursday.

The boat was carrying people from Vitshumbi on the southern shore of Lake Edward towards Virunga National Park on the northern side of the lake when it capsized late Wednesday, said Delphin Malekani, the president of the local civil society in Kyavinonge.

The majority of victims were people fleeing the ongoing advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels . Authorities didn’t immediately say what caused the boat to capsize. There were eight survivors, officials said.

M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of eastern Congo’s mineral wealth. The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away.

This week, the rebels seized another provincial capital in Goma’s south, Bukavu, near Burundi. The region is rich in gold and coltan, a key mineral for the production of capacitors used in most consumer electronics such as laptops and smartphones.

Analysts have said the rebels are eyeing political power, unlike their brief capture of Goma, a major security and humanitarian hub, in 2012.

The rebel-appointed mayor of Goma said Tuesday they would carry out a census, in a sign of their intention to maintain control of the city. And ferry service resumed between Goma and Bukavu, the only way to travel between the two locations for now.

Situated on the border with Uganda, ferry service has been banned on Lake Edward since March of last year, but as people flee the rapid M23 advance, some have turned to unreliable and dangerous illegal ferry services. Hundreds have already been killed or declared missing in capsizings so far this year.

The capsizing of overloaded boats is also becoming increasingly frequent in the central African nation as more people are choosing to travel in unsafe wooden vessels instead of by road because of security reasons.

The roads are often caught up in the deadly clashes between Congolese security forces and rebels that sometimes block major access routes.