The security situation remains tense in Masisi territory, North Kivu province, where the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) carried out drone strikes early Tuesday against positions held by AFC/M23 rebels in Kishusha, near the strategic mining town of Rubaya.
According to local sources, the operation took place at around 4:00 a.m., when an FARDC drone reportedly struck rebel positions in Kishusha, an area that has witnessed intense fighting in recent days.
Powerful explosions were reportedly heard as far as Rubaya, causing panic among residents. Several families spent the early hours of the morning in fear of a renewed escalation of violence amid the already fragile security situation.
No official casualty figures have yet been released. Sources on the ground say an assessment of the human and material damage caused by the strikes is ongoing.
The drone strikes come amid renewed clashes between AFC/M23 fighters and government forces, backed by Wazalendo militia groups, in and around Rubaya and other parts of Masisi territory. The area remains one of the main fronts of the ongoing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
