In an official communique, the group said its forces, positioned on the outskirts of Kisangani, neutralised drones that were “about to be launched to massacre civilians and attack our positions.” AFC/M23 described the operation as a “patriotic duty to protect innocent populations.”
Lt Col Ngoma, a senior official within the group, was reportedly killed in a drone strike by Kinshasa forces in Rubaya on February 24, a development that AFC/M23 said underscores the government’s violation of the ceasefire and its strategy of terror targeting both soldiers and civilians.
“The blood of our compatriots who were brutally murdered, including Lieutenant Colonel Ngoma, will neither be forgotten nor passed over in silence,” AFC/M23’s spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said in a communiqué. “The Kinshasa regime and its criminal coalition bear full responsibility for these heinous crimes.”
The group vowed that operations to neutralize the drone threat would continue “resolutely” as long as civilian populations remain at risk in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. AFC/M23 reaffirmed its solidarity with affected communities and its determination to defend and protect civilians from any threat.
Leave a Reply