The Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC/M23) rebel movement has accused the Congolese government of bombing a humanitarian aircraft in South Kivu, nearly 72 hours after a peace deal was signed in Washington—raising fears of renewed violence and a breakdown of a fragile ceasefire. ALSO READ: AFC/M23 says Rwanda-DR Congo deal ‘tiny’ part of solution Calling the strike “barbaric” and part of an ethnic cleansing campaign, on Monday, June 30, the rebel movement said the aircraft was bombed while delivering aid to Minembwe, a hilly and mountainous region in South Kivu Province that is home to the persecuted Banyamulenge community. The Banyamulenge community has, in the past, petitioned the international community to intervene and stop brutal killings targeting them in Minembwe, to no avail. ALSO READ: Details of Rwanda-DR Congo peace agreement signed in Washington In a post on X, AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said the aircraft was carrying critical humanitarian supplies, including food and medicines to a population devastated by ongoing violence. “This heinous crime, premeditated and executed with tremendous cruelty, extended beyond human casualties: it also destroyed essential supplies,” the rebels said. ALSO READ: AFC/M23 leader lists four reasons why movement is fighting Tshisekedi govt “It reduced to ashes food rations intended for a disaster‑stricken population traumatized by violence orchestrated by the Kinshasa regime since April 2017.” According to AFC/M23, the attack is part of a broader campaign of ethnic cleansing targeting the Banyamulenge community in the region. “Through this latest atrocity, the Kinshasa regime furthers its vile ethnic‑cleansing campaign against our Banyamulenge compatriots,” Kanyuka said. “It deliberately condemns them to protracted suffering while fueling an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in Minembwe.” The rebels accused Kinshasa for violating the ceasefire and coordinating attacks with Burundi forces (FNDB), the Rwandan genocidal militia FDLR, and Congolese Wazalendo militias. FDLR, which poses a serious security threat to neighboring Rwanda is a DR Congo-backed terrorist militia founded by remnants of the masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. According to the rebel group, the latest offensives targeted civilians in localities such as Kanyola, Kabare, Kigogo, Kadasomwa, and Nyabiondo. The rebels condemned the flagrant, cynical, and repeated ceasefire violation by the illegitimate Kinshasa regime, along with coordinated attacks against civilians in densely populated areas, warning that the targeted massacres of Banyamulenge compatriots will not go unpunished.
