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Democratic Republic of the Congo
Goma Falls to M23
The rebel militia M23 announced it has taken control of the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. While there are reports that some government soldiers have continued fighting the rebels, it is believed most have fled on boats into Lake Kivu. M23 leaders have warned the remaining government soldiers to surrender their weapons and assemble in a local stadium by 3:00am. This is the second time the group has taken control of Goma. It briefly controlled the city in 2012 before being defeated and going into hiding for several years. Goma’s airport, an important hub for humanitarian aid to the area, has been shut down. The United Nations and the United States claim M23 is being directly supported by Rwanda, but there have been no serious efforts to sanction the Rwandan government. Rwanda denies supporting M23 but does characterize the group as a native Congolese movement protecting its communities.
This map depicts the city of Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has been reportedly overrun by the M23 militant group. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Barron’s
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Sudan
Hospital Attack in Darfur Kills 70
On Sunday, around 70 people were killed in an attack on the only functional hospital in the besieged city of El Fasher in Sudan, part of a series of attacks coming as the African nation’s civil war escalated in recent days. The attack on the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital, which local officials blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), came as the group was experiencing apparent battlefield losses to the Sudanese military and allied forces. Since April 2023, there has been a civil war between two rival factions of the military government of Sudan—the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF––over control of the state and its resources. More than 61,000 people are estimated to have died in this conflict. Additionally, over 12.4 million have been forcibly displaced, including 3.3 million into neighboring countries.
This map depicts the hospital drone attack in El Fasher, North Darfur, as a result of the current civil war in Sudan.
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Graphic Source: The Guardian
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United States
Ancient Forest Found in Rockies
High up in the Rocky Mountains of northwest Wyoming, scientists have discovered the remains of a forest that had been preserved for thousands of years beneath layers of ice. Melting ice revealed the white bark pine (Pinus albicaulis) forest over 600 feet (183 m) above the modern treeline. The ancient forest thrived when the global climate went through a warm period following the last ice age approximately 10,000 years ago. The forest was encased in ice due to another lesser cooling period 5,500 years ago. The pristinely preserved forest offers clues for understanding the impacts of past climate change on ecosystem dynamics.
This map depicts the location of an ancient white bark pine forest’s treeline relative to the modern treeline on the Beartooth Plateau. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: What major desert can be found near the Altai Mountains?
A: Gobi Desert
The Altai Mountains are a system of remote mountains in central Asia that cover an area of 326,000 sq mi (845,000 sq km). The mountains stretch for 1,569 mi (2,525 km) from northwest to southeast. The Altai Mountains are a mountain range in Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their headwaters. The massif merges with the Sayan Mountains in the northeast, and gradually becomes lower in the southeast, where it merges into the high plateau of the Gobi Desert. The Gobi (from Mongolian gobi, meaning “waterless place”) stretches across huge portions of both Mongolia and China.
Source
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Q: What is the highest volcano in the Eastern Hemisphere?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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