A volcano has erupted near the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), spewing lava in an area devastated by a major eruption four years ago.
The area around Goma has seen days of clashes between forces loyal to a dissident former general and the DRC’s army that have killed at least three people. United Nations forces were drawn into the unrest on Monday.
Mount Nyamulagira began erupting at about 10pm local time on Monday, said Celestin Kasereka, head of the Goma volcano observatory. Specific details of the eruption were not immediately available.
Kasereka said observation of the site had been difficult because of the unrest in the region.
Goma is not in the path of lava flows from Nyamulagira because its sister volcano, Mount Nyirangongo, protects the city. ”Nyirangongo constitutes a barrier,” Kasereka said.
Nyirangongo is about 20km north-east of Goma, while Nyamulagira is another 16km further to the north-east. They are the only two active volcanoes in the region.
In 2002, the eruption of Nyirangongo destroyed about a fifth of the residential areas of Goma, the provincial capital of the DRC’s North Kivu province. About 100 people died as lava flows as deep as 3m overtook parts of the city of 500 000.
Nyamulagira erupted later the same year, spewing plumes of lava 90m into the air, but without threatening Goma. The volcano erupts every year or two, but rarely affects populated areas.
The fighting has been centred on the town of Sake, about 30kmwest of Goma in the opposite direction from the volcanoes.
The largely lawless eastern DRC has been home to numerous rebellions in recent years as rival warlords claim swathes of land — some hanging on despite recent elections designed to unify the country under democratic rule. — Sapa-AP