Drones targeted a strategic airport in the city of Kisangani in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo over the weekend, the provincial government said on Monday, February 2. The explosive drones carrying munitions targeted the airport between Saturday and Sunday, the Tshopo government said in a statement seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP). "Eight enemy drones were neutralized before reaching their target," it said. No casualties have been reported.
The resource-rich east of the DRC, which borders Rwanda as well as Burundi, has been plagued by 30 years of violence that has drawn in several foreign powers. In recent years, the resurgence of the M23 anti-governmental group has left thousands dead and triggered a spiraling humanitarian crisis.
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Conflict rages on in eastern DRC, one week after Washington peace deal
Since taking up arms again at the end of 2021, the M23 has seized swathes of the Congolese east with Rwanda's help, taking the key cities of Goma and Bukavu in a lightning offensive a year ago. In early December, M23 fighters carried out a new offensive on the town of Uvira on the Burundi border, as the DRC and Rwanda were formalizing a US-brokered peace deal.
