DR Congo: New wave of drone strikes hits Kisangani Airport

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a new wave of drone strikes has hit both rebel-held and government-controlled areas.

On Sunday evening, around 5:30 pm, multiple explosions struck Bangboka airport in Kisangani, in the Tshopo province. Local authorities report nine blasts between Sunday night and early Monday morning.

Two flights were canceled, no casualties have been reported so far, and the full extent of material damage is still being assessed. It is reportedly the fourth time this airport has been targeted. Officials suspect drone strikes and say investigations are underway.

These attacks come amid ongoing fighting in the east of the country. The AFC/M23 movement accuses government forces of carrying out drone strikes on its positions in North Kivu – including Rumangabo, home to the headquarters of Virunga National Park, the mining area of Rubaya in Masisi, and parts of Minembwe. The group claims buildings were hit and civilians killed.

Neither side has formally claimed responsibility for these latest strikes, but both trade accusations as the ceasefire agreed in April in Switzerland continues to be repeatedly violated. On Friday, the international contact group for the Great Lakes region – including Belgium, France, the United States and the European Union – condemned the growing use of drones by various actors and the rising number of civilian victims in eastern Congo.

The region has been plagued by violence for more than 30 years but fighting intensified in early 2025 when Rwanda-backed M23 fighters seized the key cities of Goma and Bukavu, overwhelming Congolese forces.

Drones have become increasingly common in recent months.

Congolese forces, long outmatched on the ground, have acquired Turkish and Chinese attack drones to strike M23 positions in the east.

But the M23 anti-governmental group is also using drones.

Its fighters have targeted sites including the airport in the northeastern city of Kisangani, where aircraft used by the government take off.

The UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, MONUSCO, condemned a "wave of deadly attacks targeting civilians" in the east, including the Mushaki strike.

The United States also denounced the attack, though without naming those responsible.

The M23 has frequently accused the army of carrying out deadly strikes on civilians.

UN experts have identified the M23 itself as a leading perpetrator of rights abuses in the region, where dissent is tightly suppressed in areas under the armed group's control.

In March, the M23 announced the death of one of its spokesmen, Willy Ngoma, in a drone strike near the Rubaya mine in North Kivu province.

A French aid worker with UNICEF was also killed in early March in a drone strike in the city of Goma.