Drone strikes on M23-held DR Congo city kill several people

Air strikes overnight Tuesday to Wednesday killed several people in the key eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma, controlled by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia, sources told AFP.

Since taking up arms again in 2021, the M23 has seized swathes of the mineral-rich Congolese east with Rwanda's backing, unleashing a fresh spiral of violence in a region long plagued by fighting.

According to witnesses, the sound of bomb blasts and buzzing drones rang out in several residential neighbourhoods of Goma, a large provincial capital near the border with Rwanda, which the M23 seized in a lightning offensive in 2025.

A drone strike was reported in the city of Goma, with one device said to have fallen on the residence of a UNICEF staff member, according to the Africanews correspondent.

According to the AFC/M23, the drone was allegedly launched by the Congolese army. So far, the government has not yet commented on these accusations.

At this stage, the exact official toll is not yet known, but the damage is considerable.

Humanitarian sources reported a toll of several buildings targeted and several people killed by Wednesday morning.

One of the houses hit was severely gutted, partially burnt and had its roof destroyed, an AFP reporter at the scene saw.

Shrapnel also hit neighbouring buildings, blowing out their windows.

An aid worker close to the house hit told AFP that he had heard the sound of a drone, followed by a loud explosion that blew a "hole in the roof" of the building.

Firefighters, United Nations employees and officials from the M23 were present at the site on Wednesday morning.