M23 Military Spokesperson Willy Ngoma Killed in Eastern Congo Drone Strike

The military spokesman for the rebels, Willy Ngoma, of the Allied Forces of Congo/M23 (AFC/M23) was killed in an early morning drone attack near the mining town of Rubaya in North Kivu province, Tuesday, multiple officials and international sources stated.

The attack occurred at about 3:00 a.m. Local time as Congolese army drones targeted rebel positions in the coltan-rich strategic area that accounts for a majority of global coltan supply.

Ngoma was a Lieutenant Colonel and one of the most recognizable members of the M23 movement who had been very outspoken through the rebels’ protracted conflict with the government and was a subject of EU and international sanctions.

The rebel group has issued statements condemning the attack, accusing Kinshasa’s forces of breaking the ceasefire that has been under mediation by international bodies, as indiscriminate targeting of civilians along with rebels. The government has not confirmed the rebels’ allegations separately.

Rubaya became the focus of the conflict because of coltan mines which fueled the M23 movement. Government forces escalateddrone strikes in the area during recent days around the mining town that resulted in heightened conflict there.

The death of Ngoma represents a development in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where M23, widely rumored to be backed by neighbor Rwanda, controls substantial parts of the region. Fighting was ongoing around the region.

Local humanitarian actors and observers cautioned that the escalating attack might undermine a ceasefire that international mediators are trying to solidify and end the humanitarian crises within the region.