AFC/M23 Strike on Kisangani Airport Targets Military Drone Facilities
Kisangani’s Bangboka International Airport came under attack on Sunday, March 1, by kamikaze drones carrying submunitions. Authorities emphasized that the strikes were directed exclusively at military installations, sparing areas used by civilians.
According to local sources, three airport buildings were targeted: two in the northeast housing drone control, piloting, and maintenance centers, and a third in the northwest serving as a drone hangar. “The movement did not target the tarmac or civilian runway,” officials said.
Claudine Elondia, spokesperson for Tshopo Province, reported that the drones struck between 3:48 p.m. and 7:48 p.m., with the final drone intercepted as a civilian CAA flight was landing at 7:45 p.m.
Earlier, AFC/M23 leader Corneille Nangaa warned that government aircraft operating over M23-controlled areas would now be intercepted at their source. “Using Kisangani as a base for terrorist activities on our territory is prohibited. Kisangani is no longer a fortified stronghold,” Nangaa said.
The FARDC military has intensified drone operations in South and North Kivu against M23 positions, a campaign that previously led to the death of M23 spokesperson Lt. Col. Will Ngoma.
