Residents of the city of Goma in North Kivu Province, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, woke up to large protests condemning drone attacks carried out by the Congolese army (FARDC), after one strike in the city killed three people, including a United Nations worker.
Many residents took to the streets of Goma holding placards denouncing what they called ongoing abuses by their country’s government.
Messages written on the placards called on President Felix Tshisekedi and his administration to stop actions that continue to claim the lives of innocent civilians.
These protests come after a drone strike, reportedly carried out by forces of the government in Kinshasa, targeted a house in the Himbi area of Goma municipality.
The attack killed three civilians, including French national Carine Buisset, who worked for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), along with two other civilians.
The incident has been widely condemned, Whereas, AFC/M23 coalition was among the first to denounce the attack, releasing a statement shortly after it happened.
The coordinator of AFC/M23, Corneille Nangaa, who visited the site of the strike, said that he was the intended target of the attack along with several other leaders of the coalition. He called on the international community to take action against what he described as continued violations of agreements and resolutions by the Congolese government.
AFC/M23 also said the international community should stop what it called double standards and cease putting pressure on the coalition to respect the ceasefire while, according to them, the opposing side continues to violate it.
The coalition further warned that the continued behavior of their opponents could push them to also abandon the ceasefire in order to defend themselves and protect civilians whose lives they say are increasingly at risk.
RADIOTV10
