The home of the French aid worker with UNICEF killed in drone strike in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on March 11, 2026. MOSES SAWASAWA / AP
For the first time since it was seized in January 2025 by the Congo River Alliance/March 23 (AFC/M23) rebellion, backed by neighboring Rwanda, Goma was targeted by drone attacks in the early hours of Wednesday, March 11. At least two drones struck the regional capital of North Kivu, a city of between one and two million people, located in the far east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
A total of three people were reportedly killed in the strikes, according to AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka. Among them was "a French UNICEF humanitarian worker," French President Emmanuel Macron announced on X. The woman was reportedly killed when her home was bombed.
Goma, which borders Rwanda, fell under rebel control following a coordinated lightning attack, commanded and conducted largely by Rwandan soldiers alongside AFC/M23 fighters, according to the findings of United Nations experts. The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) fled the city, which thousands of armed men (UN peacekeepers, South African contingents, foreign private military companies, local militias and others) had failed to defend. Goma was then spared from further fighting, which instead spread to South Kivu. By mid-February 2025, Bukavu, the regional capital, had also fallen to the rebels.
