Drone strikes hit Goma in east Congo on Wednesday, March 11, killing at least three people, including a French aid worker, the first such attack in the city since the AFC/M23 rebels seized it last year, according to the group and the U.N.
The AFC/M23 blamed the attack on the Congolese army, saying in a post on X that Kinshasa had launched drones against a densely populated urban area in the lakeside city.
A spokesperson for the rebels said in a separate post that three people had died, including a foreign humanitarian worker.
A senior official for the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF told Reuters that one of its employees, a French national, was killed.
The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo confirmed that the strikes killed a U.N. staff member and two other civilians and warned that attacks against U.N. personnel may amount to war crimes.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for equality, preparedness and crisis management, condemned the attack in posts on X, calling for respect for international humanitarian law and saying aid workers must never be targeted.
A spokesperson for Congo’s army declined to comment.
Congo’s government, later that Wednesday, acknowledged the attack occurred in a statement with condolences to the family of the aid worker and said investigations were underway.
