Mount Hehu (French: Mont Hehu) are large hills located in the Buhumba groupement (grouoing) within the Bukumu Chiefdom of the Nyiragongo Territory in the North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Standing at an elevation of 2,430 meters, Mount Hehu is situated near Hibumba and Bungeshi Mukuru villages on the border of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[1] [2]
Since the advent of M23 in 2013, Mount Hehu has been ravaged by paramilitary groups, insurgent forces, and ever-changing conflict hotspots in the region.[3] [4] Due to insurgent attacks, starvation, unemployment, many have evacuated their communities and sought refuge in Kanyaruchinya and Gasizi villages.[5] [6] [7]
The hills were historically occupied by Kumu (Bakumu or Komo) people, Bantu horticulturalists living in the autonomous villages collectively situated at the summit of a hill surrounded by a palisade in the tropical rainforests of Nyiragongo Territory and Ituri Province in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[8] [9]
On October 25, 2013, the Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC) dislodged the March 23 Movement (M23) from Kibumba, located 27 kilometers north of the city of Goma, in North Kivu. Though, the rebels took up residence on the Hehu Hill, on the border with Rwanda, making little resistance.[10] [11]
In January 2014 two young boys were killed in the Nyiragongo territory (North Kivu). According to local sources, the population accuses the FARDC of being responsible for the murder of two young boys. The perpetrator, whom they identify as a soldier, was probing for the victim's grandfather around Hehu's locality at approximately 9 pm (local time) to kill him. When he pulled the trigger the bullet struck his grandson, who died at the scene.[12]
On November 14, 2022, the resumption of fighting between the FARDC and the M23 around Kibumba resulted in the displacement of civilians in the Kibumba and Buhumba villages. The M23 seized control of the Mwaro village with the aim of controlling Gasizi and the strategic hill of Hehu.[13]