Two days after the reported death of M23 spokesperson Willy Ngoma in a predawn strike, Congolese government forces escalated operations in the east, launching drone attacks on positions held by the Rwanda-backed rebel group, security sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday.
The heaviest fighting centered near the mining town of Rubaya, where an earlier drone strike targeted M23 fighters, according to local and security officials. The area remains a strategic flashpoint.
Rubaya is home to one of the world’s most significant coltan deposits, accounting for an estimated 15% to 30% of global supply. The mineral is essential for manufacturing electronics, including smartphones and laptops.
Since reemerging in 2021, the M23 has seized large swaths of mineral-rich territory in eastern Congo. In April 2024, the group captured the Rubaya mine in North Kivu province, a move widely seen as bolstered by Rwanda’s backing.
The renewed offensive underscores deepening instability in a region scarred by more than three decades of conflict, where multiple armed factions and foreign actors continue to compete for control of lucrative natural resources.
The M23 in December launched an offensive on the strategic city of Uvira in South Kivu province near the border with Burundi.
The assault drew condemnation from the United States, which has mediated a fragile peace deal between Congo and Rwanda.
Angola, another mediator, proposed a ceasefire to take effect Feb. 18, though it has done little to halt hostilities.
On Wednesday, local militias backed by Congolese soldiers carried out attacks at several points along the front line in North Kivu, particularly in Masisi, where Rubaya is located, according to local and security sources.
The militias captured the village of Kazinga on Wednesday, about 20 kilometers northwest of Rubaya, the same sources said.
According to U.N. experts, the M23 has set up an administration parallel to the Congolese state to regulate operations at the Rubaya mine since its capture.
"In central Rubaya, people are terrified. I went to see the place where the drone struck, but access was denied," a resident told AFP on Tuesday, requesting anonymity.
AFP was unable to confirm the death toll from the strike because phone networks in the area have been down since Tuesday, and Congolese authorities and civil society groups fled when the M23 arrived.
Clashes were also reported Wednesday in the South Kivu highlands, where the Congolese army is battling a coalition of militias allied with the M23.
Outmatched on the ground by the better-equipped M23 and Rwandan troops, Kinshasa’s forces have relied in part on U.S. pressure on Kigali to stabilize the front line, regional specialists and security sources told AFP.
They also said Kinshasa has secured relative control of its skies thanks to long-range Chinese and Turkish drones and the support of foreign paramilitaries.
