An M23 rebel group member stands guard near a private residence, in which a deceased French humanitarian aid worker lived, before she was killed by a drone strike, in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on March 11, 2026. JOSPIN MWISHA / AFP
A French aid worker working for the United Nations children's agency was killed in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday, March 11, after sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that overnight air strikes had killed several people in the M23 rebel group-held city of Goma.
According to witnesses, the sound of bomb blasts and buzzing drones had rung out in several residential neighbourhoods of Goma, a large provincial capital city near the border with Rwanda, which the M23 seized in a lightning offensive in 2025.
"A French UNICEF humanitarian worker has been killed in Goma. I extend the nation's support and sympathy to her family, loved ones and colleagues," Macron said on X, urging "respect for humanitarian law and for the personnel who are on the ground and committed to saving lives."
Humanitarian sources reported a toll of several buildings targeted and several people killed by Wednesday morning, though AFP was not able to determine the exact death toll or the precise origin of the strikes at this stage.
