A French national working for the UN in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been killed, the French president has said, following reports of drone strikes on the eastern city of Goma.
Two other people were killed in the attack but their identities have not been made public.
Witnesses say the drones hit Lake Kivu and a two-storey residential building frequently occupied by expatriates and aid workers in the rebel-held city early on Wednesday morning.
In a post on X, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the death of Karine Buisset, who worked for the UN children’s charity Unicef, and urged “respect for humanitarian law”.
Unicef said it was ”devastated and outraged” by her death and described Buisset as “a dedicated humanitarian who worked tirelessly to support children and families affected by conflict and crisis.”
The head of the UN mission in DR Congo denounced the escalation of violence.
“I condemn in the strongest terms the use of weapons, including armed drones that endanger civilian populations and United Nations personnel,” said Bruno Lemarquis, in a statement on Wednesday.
The M23 rebels took control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, near the border with Rwanda, early last year.
The group has since 2021 seized swathes of mineral-rich eastern DR Congo, with multiple ceasefires brokered only to collapse soon after.
The DR Congo army, stationed several hundred kilometres from Goma, regularly launches long-range drone strikes on M23 positions, while security sources say the M23 also deploys explosive drones at the front lines.
Videos circulating on social media on Wednesday showed flames engulfing the building as thick smoke rose into the night sky and residents scrambled amid the debris.
Images from the scene showed the building heavily damaged, with the roof partially torn apart, walls peppered with shrapnel marks and windows blown out.
Residents said they had heard the sound of bomb blasts and the buzzing of drones in the neighbourhoods of Goma, sparking panic. One Goma resident told the BBC that they heard a detonation around 04:00 in the Katindo neighbourhood, but at the time was unaware of what had happened.
An aid worker close to the house hit told AFP news agency that he had heard the sound of a drone, followed by a loud explosion that blew a “hole in the roof” of the building.
Firefighters, UN staff and M23 officials were seen at the scene on Wednesday morning.
The private residence is located near the home of former DR Congo President Joseph Kabila, AP news agency reported. He has been sentenced to death for treason over accusations he backs the rebels, charges he denies.
Buisset’s colleagues described her as a dedicated humanitarian worker, who was passionate about child protection programmes in the region.
“The humanitarian family mourns a woman of conviction,” Unicef in Cameroon posted on X, announcing that UN flags would be flown at half-mast in her honour.
M23 rebels blamed the government for the attack, terming it a “terrorist act”. Lawrence Kanyuka, a spokesperson for the Congo River Alliance (AFC) which includes the M23, described it as a deliberate assault on a densely populated city.
The army has denied any involvement.
The strikes come amid the expanding use of drones in DR Congo’s conflict, which has displaced millions and drawn in regional powers.
The UN and Western nations accuse Rwanda of backing the M23 – charges it denies.
Last month, prominent M23 spokesman Willy Ngoma was killed in a strike near the mining town of Rubaya.
The fighting continued despite Rwanda and DR Congo signing a peace deal in early December at the urging of US President Donald Trump, the latest attempt to end the conflict.
By BBC News
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