The Alliance Fleuve Congo/Mouvement du 23 Mars (AFC/M23) has accused the government in Kinshasa of collapsing a fragile ceasefire and pushing eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo back into full-scale conflict, warning that renewed violence is placing both fighters and civilians at grave risk.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Saturday, M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka claimed government forces deliberately violated the truce through drone strikes allegedly carried out far from active frontlines. He said the attacks targeted the group’s positions as well as civilian-populated areas, escalating tensions in an already volatile security environment.
Kanyuka confirmed that one of the group’s senior officers under the Congolese Revolutionary Army (ARC), Colonel Willy Ngoma, was killed on February 24, 2026, in what he described as one of the latest strikes. He alleged that several civilians had also died in the renewed hostilities and vowed that those responsible would be held accountable.
He listed multiple localities across the two provinces, including Kawele, Mweso, Rutigita, Kitazungura, Rugezi, Rubaya, Walikale, Masisi, Kalehe, Minembwe and Nyabyondo, where he claimed civilians had been affected by the violence.
In a fresh update issued Sunday, Kanyuka alleged that coalition forces allied to Kinshasa set fire to the village of Kalongi in Minembwe using drones at about 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. He further claimed that bombardments of heavily populated areas in Kalingi were continuing, including the use of so-called kamikaze drones.
According to the statement, at approximately 7:00 a.m., coalition elements, including the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), the Burundi National Defence Force (FDNB), the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), mercenaries and Wazalendo militias launched a coordinated attack on M23 positions in Kakenke and surrounding areas.
Describing the alleged assaults as “barbaric and repeated aggressions,” Kanyuka said the group remained fully mobilized and ready to defend civilian populations, whom he described as victims of a war imposed by what he termed an illegitimate regime in Kinshasa.
AFC/M23 Deputy Coordinator Bertrand Bisimwa said Kinshasa had chosen the military option and would bear its consequences.
“If the objective of peace is to reconcile the belligerents and the people, war, for its part, is a fatal outcome for one of the belligerents,” Bisimwa said.
There was no immediate response from the government in Kinshasa regarding the latest accusations.
