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A spokesperson for the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels fighting in eastern Congo, Willy Ngoma, has been killed in a predawn drone strike near the North Kivu province’s mining town of Rubaya.
Ngoma was a senior officer who was deeply involved in M23’s operations until his death. News of Ngoma’s death was disclosed by a United States official and a rights group on Tuesday.
The Associated Press gathered that the drone strike targeted a spot that has in recent weeks served as an enclave for the M23. There is no report on who orchestrated the drone strike at press time.Â
A long-running armed conflict has thrown DR Congo into a humanitarian crisis for years. From 2021 into 2022, M23 rebels launched an offensive in North Kivu, capturing towns and displacing hundreds of thousands. In January 2025, rebels struck Goma and Bukavu, further expanding their control of several cities and towns.
Congo and the M23 rebels had agreed to a ceasefire after the US and Qatar brokered peace between DR Congo and Rwanda, which backs the M23, following numerous failed mediation efforts.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), known as MONUSCO, on Tuesday announced the deployment of a joint exploratory assessment mission to Uvira in eastern DR Congo.
Analysts say the drone strike and Ngoma’s death are a setback to peace efforts that many expected would restore peace to the conflict-hit region.
