Minembwe, DRC – August 28, 2025 — In the early hours of Thursday morning, a drone strike hit the village of Rugezi, south of Minembwe, with the attack specifically targeting a local health facility. According to sources on the ground, one nurse was killed when the facility was struck at around 1:00 a.m.
The strike occurred under a communications blackout, as all telephone networks in Minembwe were reportedly cut before the attack.
Local groups allege that the operation was carried out by mercenaries recruited by the Kinshasa government to provide technological support to a coalition composed of the Congolese army (FARDC), Burundian forces, FDLR fighters, and Wazalendo militias under the command of Mai-Mai leader William Amuri Yakutumba.
Within hours of the Rugezi strike, coordinated assaults were reported in the Banyamulenge villages of Mikenge and Kahololo, situated in the High Plateaus of Mwenga/Itombwe and Uvira territories. Reliable sources claim that Kinshasa has issued formal orders to attack Banyamulenge-inhabited villages in the wider Minembwe region.
The Movement for the Defense of the People (MRDP–Twirwaneho) condemned the attacks, accusing the government of President Félix Tshisekedi of pursuing “a logic of war at the expense of peace.”
They argue the strikes undermine the ongoing peace negotiations taking place in Doha.
“These targeted and unjustified acts against civilians prove the regime’s deliberate choice of escalation,” a Twirwaneho statement read, adding that the group remains determined to defend Banyamulenge communities in the High Plateaus.
The situation in Minembwe remains tense, with fears of further attacks in the coming days as civilians face heightened insecurity and displacement.