AFC/M23 rebels claim responsability for drone attack on Kisangani airport

Congo River Alliance (AFC) and M23 rebels have claimed responsibility for this weekend’s drone attack on the Kisangani airport in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rebel spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka confirmed the group’s involvement in a statement released overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, where he claimed that the AFC/M23 “carried out the destruction of a military command centre” located at Kisangani Bangoka International Airport.

On Monday, provincial authorities in Tshopo said eight kamikaze drones targeting the airport over the weekend had been shot down before reaching their target. The local government blamed Rwanda and AFC/M23 rebels for the attack.

The rebel coalition said the Kisangani airport — located about 17 km from central Kisangani — was the “primary hub” for attacks on rebel positions and civilians in rebel-held areas.

“The use of Kisangani as a platform for projecting terror against our territories is now prohibited. The sanctuary of this rear base is over,” rebel leader Corneille Nangaa said in a statement on Tuesday night.

Nangaa described the operation as a warning that marked the end of the Congolese army’s “air superiority.”

The drone attack against Kisangani airport took place about a year after M23 rebels seized the key eastern cities of Goma and Bukavu early in 2025.