Army and firefighters work at a house damaged by a drone strike in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Wednesday. Three people were killed in the attack, including a French worker for Unicef.Moses Sawasawa/The Associated Press
United Nations leaders say they are outraged by a drone attack that killed a UN humanitarian worker in one of eastern Congo’s biggest cities, a new escalation of a war that U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed to have ended.
The attack, which killed three civilians, is believed to be the first Congolese drone strike on Goma, a regional hub of a million people that was captured last year by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Karine Buisset, a French worker for the UN children’s agency, Unicef, was among those killed when the drone struck a building where humanitarian workers were living in the predawn hours Wednesday.
Everyone at the UN agency is “devastated and outraged” by Ms. Buisset’s death in the attack, Unicef executive director Catherine Russell said in a statement that was later echoed by a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
French President Emmanuel Macron, one of the first to denounce the attack, said humanitarian law and relief workers must both be respected.
Relatives and colleagues of Ms. Buisset mourn after her body was taken away from the residence in Goma, March 11.JOSPIN MWISHA/AFP/Getty Images
Both the Congolese military and the M23 militia have been intensifying their use of armed drones in recent weeks. Congo killed a top M23 leader in a drone strike last month, while M23 has repeatedly sent drones to attack an airport in the city of Kisangani, hundreds of kilometres from the war’s front lines.
Mr. Trump has claimed for months that he has resolved the long-running war in eastern Congo. He and his officials have presided over a series of signing ceremonies for peace agreements over the past year, but each agreement was immediately breached by continued fighting.
In frustration, the United States announced sanctions this month on several top Rwandan political and military leaders, along with sanctions on the Rwandan army itself, known as the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF).
Washington also demanded that Rwanda withdraw its forces from Congo, where it has reportedly deployed thousands of troops to support M23’s operations. But there has been no indication of any withdrawal.
In announcing the sanctions, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott accused M23 of “horrific human rights abuses,” including summary executions and other violence against women and children. “The continued backing from the RDF and its senior leadership has enabled M23 to capture DRC sovereign territory and continue these grave abuses,” he said.
Over the past three years, M23 has captured a vast swath of eastern Congo, including lucrative mining sites that produce a large percentage of the world’s supply of coltan, a key ingredient in computers and cellphones.
Congo troops assault coltan-rich town after site is offered to U.S. investors
In response to the rebel advance, the Congolese army has increasingly deployed drones and warplanes. Air strikes by both sides reached an all-time high in February, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, an independent monitoring group.
Congo’s military said Tuesday that it had shot down two Rwandan army drones in South Kivu, to the south of Goma.
The drone attack Wednesday hit an upscale neighbourhood of Goma, where many politicians and humanitarian workers live. Corneille Nangaa, head of M23’s political wing, said the attack was aimed at “decapitating” the militia’s leadership, since several of its top leaders live in the area.
United Nations peacekeepers stand guard near a private residence damaged by a drone strike in Goma, March 11.JOSPIN MWISHA/AFP/Getty Images
Analysts said the attack could have also have been targeting former Congolese president Joseph Kabila, who has become loosely affiliated with M23. His wife lives in a house about 50 metres from the drone strike, but Mr. Kabila was not in the city at the time of the attack.
Videos and photos from the scene circulating on social media showed smoke billowing from the damaged roof of a two-storey building, with extensive shrapnel damage visible on its walls. A second drone reportedly missed its target and landed in nearby Lake Kivu.
Bruno Lemarquis, head of the UN mission in Congo, condemned the attack and said it could amount to a war crime.
Congo’s government, in a late-night statement, promised to investigate the attack. It did not confirm or deny the Congolese army’s responsibility.