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A drone attack which targeted the strategic Kisangani Bangboka Airport, in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has been repelled by security forces.
According to security forces, this is the second such incident in a month. They blamed the airport attack on the M23 rebel group, backed by neighbouring Rwanda. The rebel group had claimed responsibility for targeting the same airport in early February.
Kisangani Bangboka Airport was the subject of a drone attack between January 31 and February 1, claimed by the M23, which said it had destroyed the airport’s military drone command centre.
Tshopo province government said the rebel group attacked Kisangani Bangboka Airport on Sunday using four “kamikaze drones loaded with submunitions” which were “intercepted and shot down”, adding that no casualty was recorded.
AFP reported that the drone attack started in the afternoon and came at four intervals. Provincial authorities said the last attack occurred when a civilian plane belonging to Compagnie Africaine d’Aviation (CAA) was preparing its landing approach.
The M23 armed group emerged when former rebels from the CNDP mutinied against the Congolese government, accusing it of failing to implement the March 23, 2009, peace agreement.
The group briefly captured the eastern city of Goma in November 2012, but was defeated in 2013. However, the rebel group reappeared and resumed fighting in late 2021.
