{"id":119065,"date":"2026-02-04T09:54:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T09:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes"},"modified":"2026-02-04T10:03:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T10:03:56","slug":"afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes","title":{"rendered":"AFC\/M23 Draws Red Line on Kisangani Air Strikes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>The AFC\/M23 has declared that the Congolese government\u2019s air superiority in eastern DR Congo is \u201cover,\u201d announcing a new military posture it says is aimed at preventing further aerial attacks against civilians in the Hauts Plateaux of South Kivu.<\/p>\n

Announcing via his official X account on Tuesday, AFC\/M23 coordinator Corneille Nangaa accused the Kinshasa regime of orchestrating violence against civilian populations in Minembwe and nearby areas, citing the use of fighter jets, combat drones and allied forces amid an ongoing internet blackout.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wave of violence orchestrated since January 22 against the populations of Minembwe and the Hauts Plateaux marks the moral and strategic bankruptcy of the Kinshasa regime,\u201d Nangaa said.<\/p>\n

Minembwe is located in South Kivu Province.<\/p>\n

He alleged that Congolese armed forces (FARDC) and allies including the FDLR genocidal militia, Burundian troops, foreign mercenaries and other local militias have carried out coordinated operations targeting civilians, supported by air assets including Sukhoi aircraft and drones.<\/p>\n

According to Nangaa, these operations have been conducted while communications in the region remain shut down, isolating civilians from from the outside world and obscuring the scale of the humanitarian crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe combined use of combat aircraft, drones and ground coalition forces against civilians, under cover of the internet blackout, will not go unanswered,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In a notable escalation of rhetoric, the AFC\/M23 leader said the movement had issued a warning concerning Kisangani airport, which he described as a rear base used to project air power against areas under AFC\/M23 control.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe monopoly on technological terror is definitively broken,\u201d Nangaa said, adding that the warning sent over Kisangani had drawn a red line and rendered the government\u2019s air-based strategy \u201cobsolete.\u201d<\/p>\n

He announced what he termed the activation of a \u201cdoctrine of preemptive defense,\u201d under which the movement says it will move to neutralize any aerial threats directed at civilian populations in what it calls \u201cliberated zones.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rebel group controls large parts of the provinces of North and South Kivu.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom now on, any aerial vector deployed against the populations of the liberated zones will be neutralized at its source,\u201d Nangaa said. \u201cThe use of Kisangani as a platform for projecting terror against our territories is now prohibited.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement signals a significant shift whereby the rebel group says it can no longer rely on diplomatic commitments alone to protect civilians amid continued violence on the ground.<\/p>\n

Dialogue still possible, says Nangaa<\/p>\n

Despite the strong warning, Nangaa said the movement remains open to political dialogue, placing responsibility for further escalation on the Congolese authorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf (President) Tshisekedi wants dialogue, we are ready to engage,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if he wants war, let him accept to bear all the consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

The declaration comes amid heightened tensions in South Kivu, following AFC\/M23\u2019s recent warning that Banyamulenge civilians face what it described as an imminent risk of genocide due to sustained attacks, humanitarian blockades and forced displacement.<\/p>\n

While ceasefire commitments have been reaffirmed through regional and international mechanisms, AFC\/M23 maintains that continued military operations, particularly aerial strikes, undermine those efforts and endanger civilian lives.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. The AFC\/M23 has declared that the Congolese government\u2019s air superiority in eastern DR Congo is \u201cover,\u201d announcing a new military posture it says is aimed at preventing further aerial attacks against civilians in the Hauts Plateaux of South Kivu. Announcing via his official X account on Tuesday, AFC\/M23 coordinator Corneille Nangaa accused […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":119064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[6999,6317,9288,7133,758],"class_list":["post-119065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-afc-m23","tag-corneille-nangaa","tag-kisangani","tag-minembwe","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nAFC\/M23 Draws Red Line on Kisangani Air Strikes - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The AFC\/M23 has declared that the Congolese government\u2019s air superiority in eastern DR Congo is \u201cover,\u201d announcing a new ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AFC\/M23 Draws Red Line on Kisangani Air Strikes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The AFC\/M23 has declared that the Congolese government\u2019s air superiority in eastern DR Congo is \u201cover,\u201d announcing a new ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-04T09:54:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-04T10:03:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770186763.009615.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"732\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"AFC\/M23 Draws Red Line on Kisangani Air Strikes\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-04T09:54:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-04T10:03:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes\"},\"wordCount\":537,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770186763.009615.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"AFC\/M23\",\"Corneille Nangaa\",\"Kisangani\",\"Minembwe\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes\",\"name\":\"AFC\/M23 Draws Red Line on Kisangani Air Strikes - Rwanda\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770186763.009615.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-04T09:54:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-04T10:03:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The AFC\/M23 has declared that the Congolese government\u2019s air superiority in eastern DR Congo is \u201cover,\u201d announcing a new ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770186763.009615.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770186763.009615.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":732,\"caption\":\"AFC\/M23 Draws Red Line on Kisangani Air Strikes\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"AFC\/M23 Draws Red Line on Kisangani Air Strikes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/\",\"name\":\"Rwanda\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"AFC\/M23 Draws Red Line on Kisangani Air Strikes - Rwanda","description":"The AFC\/M23 has declared that the Congolese government\u2019s air superiority in eastern DR Congo is \u201cover,\u201d announcing a new ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"AFC\/M23 Draws Red Line on Kisangani Air Strikes","og_description":"The AFC\/M23 has declared that the Congolese government\u2019s air superiority in eastern DR Congo is \u201cover,\u201d announcing a new ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes","og_site_name":"Rwanda","article_published_time":"2026-02-04T09:54:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-04T10:03:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":732,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770186763.009615.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"AFC\/M23 Draws Red Line on Kisangani Air Strikes","datePublished":"2026-02-04T09:54:04+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-04T10:03:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes"},"wordCount":537,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770186763.009615.jpg","keywords":["AFC\/M23","Corneille Nangaa","Kisangani","Minembwe","Rwanda"],"articleSection":["all news","Policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes","name":"AFC\/M23 Draws Red Line on Kisangani Air Strikes - Rwanda","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770186763.009615.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-04T09:54:04+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-04T10:03:56+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The AFC\/M23 has declared that the Congolese government\u2019s air superiority in eastern DR Congo is \u201cover,\u201d announcing a new ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770186763.009615.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770186763.009615.jpg","width":1000,"height":732,"caption":"AFC\/M23 Draws Red Line on Kisangani Air Strikes"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/afc-m23-draws-red-line-on-kisangani-air-strikes#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"AFC\/M23 Draws Red Line on Kisangani Air Strikes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/","name":"Rwanda","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}