The Armed Forces aligned with the DR Congo government fired explosive munitions at a Red Cross relief plane over Minembwe, using unmanned drones, wounding civilians in the process.
On Monday morning, this armed faction launched a drone attack on the Red Cross aircraft, which had come to Minembwe to deliver aid to civilians displaced by conflict.
The plane first arrived on Sunday in the hilly region of Minembwe and experienced a malfunction during landing at Kiziba airstrip, crashing over in Gishigo.
Reports indicate the plane was not severely damaged; only its right wing was affected, and no one on board was seriously injured—only one staff member sustained minor injuries, according to ongoing accounts.
An on-site witness reported:
“FARDC burned the Red Cross plane that was delivering aid to people displaced by Mai-Mai attacks—they shot it with explosives, destroying it.”
They added that two civilians were wounded by drone-fired munitions and were promptly taken to hospital.
At the end of February, the same Congolese armed coalition used a drone to drop explosives in Minembwe again, targeting several areas.
Those strikes hit Lundu, Kiziba airstrip, areas in Rango of Nyarojoka, and Gakangala, killing many people and destroying infrastructure, including the Minembwe airstrip at Kiziba.
