Landslide in eastern Congo kills at least 13, leaves over 30 missing

A landslide in eastern Congo early Tuesday killed at least 13 people and left over 30 still missing, according to local authorities.

The landslide occurred at around 1 a.m. in the village of Burutsi in North Kivu province. Witnesses say that the landslide followed several hours of intense rainfall and has cut off the main road between the major city of Goma and the provincial capital, Walikale.

“Nature acted terribly, and the entire hillside collapsed into the village of Burutsi while ... people were asleep,” Descarte Akilimali, the sector chief of Burutsi area, told The Associated Press.

Local officials said that they had asked the government for assistance, but the closure of the road to Goma complicated the government's ability to respond.

Eastern Congo has for decades been ripped apart by violence from government forces and different armed groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23, whose recent resurgence has escalated the conflict, worsening an already acute humanitarian crisis.

Walikale was captured in an offensive by M23 rebels last year and the area continues to experience violence.

More than 100 armed groups vie for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda. The conflict has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises with more than 7 million people displaced, officials say.

Earlier this year, M23 seized Goma and Bukavu, two key cities in eastern Congo, in a major escalation of the conflict.