Masisi drone strike blamed on MONUSCO as death toll rises to 10

The AFC/M23 has directly accused the UN mission in DR Congo (MONUSCO) of complicity in the deadly drone strike on Masisi-Centre as of January 4, with the provisional death toll rising to at least 10 civilians and more than 50 others wounded. ALSO READ: UN force accused of aiding government coalition against M23 rebels In a statement shared on X on Sunday, AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said MONUSCO’s reconnaissance missions enable what he described as repeated drone strikes by the Kinshasa regime’s coalition forces, arguing that the UN mission can no longer claim neutrality. “MONUSCO must end its hypocrisy,” Kanyuka said, adding that it is “common knowledge” that most drone strikes carried out by the coalition of the Congolese armed forces (FARDC), Burundian troops, the Rwandan genocidal militia FDLR, foreign mercenaries, and local armed groups including Mai-Mai and Wazalendo militias are made possible through MONUSCO intelligence and reconnaissance support. ALSO READ: Minister slams MONUSCO over ‘mild’ condemnation of deadly Masisi drone attack He accused the UN mission of remaining silent in the face of what he described as crimes against civilians, saying such inaction renders MONUSCO “morally and politically complicit.” https://x.com/LawrenceKanyuka/status/2007902171652608304?s=20 Kanyuka said MONUSCO should explicitly cite the Kinshasa government as responsible for the killings in Masisi trading centre and elsewhere in eastern DR Congo, and unequivocally condemn what he described as repeated ceasefire violations by government forces. According to the statement, MONUSCO bears responsibility equal to that of the Kinshasa regime due to what AFC/M23 described as close operational ties, including joint operations and the so-called Springbok operation. ALSO READ: Nangaa slams Kinshasa's incitement to ethnic violence “In Masisi-Centre, the provisional death toll stands at atleast 10, with more than 50 wounded, all civilians,” Kanyuka said, stressing that the figures represent “a human tragedy caused by indiscriminate attacks against civilian populations.” The rebel movement called on national and international actors to bear witness to what it described as repeated massacres of civilians in eastern DR Congo, warning that the world can no longer “turn a blind eye.” The statement comes days after AFC/M23 first reported that a drone strike on Masisi Centre, North Kivu, killed six people and injured 41 others, accusing coalition forces loyal to Kinshasa and their allies of launching the attack from Uvira, South Kivu. On January 3, MONUSCO condemned the incident in general terms and called for an independent verification of the facts, but stopped short of naming the perpetrators — a position that has drawn sharp criticism from AFC/M23 and regional officials alike. Rwanda’s Foreign Minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, described MONUSCO’s condemnation as “mild” for failing to even “mention its allies, the FARDC, as perpetrators of this war crime against Congolese civilians in Masisi Centre.” The minister recalled a November 2025 communiqué in which MONUSCO said it had trained 120 FARDC soldiers in the use of drones and heavy weapons.

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Masisi drone strike blamed on MONUSCO as death toll rises to 10