Feb 3 (Reuters) – The leader of the AFC/M23 rebel movement in Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday claimed responsibility for a drone attack targeting the airport in the strategic northeastern city of Kisangani, describing it as a warning to the government.
The government of Tshopo province, where Kisangani is located, said in a statement on Sunday that eight explosive‑laden drones targeted the airport serving Kisangani. It said all the drones were shot down before reaching their target.
The airport lies about 17 km (10 miles) from central Kisangani, hundreds of kilometres from the front lines in North and South Kivu provinces, where AFC/M23 has seized large swathes of territory since 2022, capturing the key cities of Goma and Bukavu in a lightning offensive last year.
In a statement posted on X, rebel leader Corneille Nangaa said the operation in Kisangani showed that the “air superiority” of Congo’s armed forces had been broken and warned that any aircraft used against rebel‑held areas would now be targeted “at their source”.
“The use of Kisangani as a platform for projecting terror against our territories is now prohibited. The sanctuary of this rear base is over,” he said.
PROGRESS ON CEASEFIRE MONITORING
His statement came one day after Congo’s government and AFC/M23, meeting in Doha under Qatari mediation, agreed on the deployment of the first U.N. team mandated to monitor a ceasefire.
Nangaa also accused Congo’s army and its allied militias of carrying out a surge of attacks in South Kivu’s highlands since January 22, saying they had used Sukhoi jets and combat drones against civilians in Minembwe and surrounding areas.
Bertrand Bisimwa, another senior AFC/M23 political figure, issued a separate message on X on Tuesday saying that if Congolese military aircraft continued to operate over what the rebels call “liberated territory”, they would be “destroyed from their respective bases”.
A spokesperson for Congo’s government and a spokesperson for the army did immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Clement Bonnerot and Congo newsroom; Writing by Ayen Deng Bior, Robbie Corey-Boulet and Michael Perry)
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