A French aid worker for the United Nations children’s agency Unicef and two other people were killed in a drone strike on a residential building in the eastern city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Karine Buisset, 54, died on Wednesday after a missile hit her home in the Himbi district, a neighbourhood home to expatriates, aid workers and humanitarian organisation headquarters. Large properties in the area have been requisitioned by leaders of the M23 armed rebel group.
Security sources told French news agency AFP they believe the strike was targeting leaders or associates of the M23, and that the occupied house was hit by mistake.
M23, who took control of the city in January 2025, blamed the strike on Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government forces – who deny carrying out the assault.
The Congolese government said it would launch an investigation into the circumstances and the origin of the explosions.
The French Foreign Ministry called for an independent and impartial investigation. "We are ready to contribute to it," added a spokesperson.
Mass graves found in eastern DRC following M23 withdrawal from Uvira
'A dedicated humanitarian'
In a statement, Unicef said it was devastated and outraged at Buisset's death. “She was a dedicated humanitarian who worked tirelessly to support children and families affected by conflict and crisis,” said executive director Catherine Russell.
“Civilians, including aid workers, must never be targeted,” she added.
French President Emmanuel Macron posted on social media: “A French humanitarian from Unicef has been killed in Goma... I call for respect for humanitarian law and for the personnel who are on the ground and who are committed to saving lives.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed his outrage through his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, saying: "Humanitarian personnel must never be targeted. This is international law. It must be respected."
Trade and aid to return to South Kivu as DRC-Burundi strategic border reopens
Since taking up arms again in 2021, the M23 group has captured swathes of DRC's mineral-rich east.
Last December, under the auspices of the United States, DRC's President Félix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame met in Washington to ratify two peace agreements that had been signed by their teams. But the fighting has not stopped.
Angola, another mediator in the conflict, proposed a ceasefire to Kinshasa and the M23 beginning on 18 February, but to no avail.
On 3 March, the US announced sanctions against the Rwandan army for its support of the M23.
The US Treasury Department said in a statement that the M23's gains would have been impossible without Rwandan backing. The State Department said separately that Rwanda's support had enabled "horrific human rights abuses".
Rwanda's government said in a statement that the sanctions unjustly targeted only one party to the peace process. "It misrepresents the reality and distorts the facts of the conflict," the statement said. It added that Rwanda was fully committed to the disengagement of its forces in tandem with the DRC implementing their obligations under US-led mediation.
(with newswires)
