Drone attack kills French UNICEF worker in eastern DR Congo

KIGALI, Rwanda

President Emmanuel Macron and UN bodies said Wednesday that a French national working for UNICEF in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo was killed after a drone attack struck a residence in the city of Goma.

The victim was identified as Karine Buisset, a UNICEF employee in Congo.

Macron expressed condolences to her family, loved ones and colleagues in a post on the US social media company X.

“I call for respect for humanitarian law and for the personnel who are on the ground and who are committed to saving lives,” he said.

The explosion reportedly hit a large two-story residential house in an area often occupied by expatriates and aid workers.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell expressed fury about the killing on X.

“All of us at UNICEF are devastated and outraged by the killing of our colleague Karine Buisset in a reported drone attack in Goma, DRC,” she said.

“Civilians, including aid workers, must never be targeted,” Russell wrote, conveying condolences to Buisset’s family, loved ones and colleagues at UNICEF.

A statement by the UN mission in Congo (MONUSCO), said interim head Bruno Lemarquis condemned the escalation in violence, which killed two civilians along with Buisset and damaged houses.

“I condemn in the strongest terms the use of weapons, including armed drones that endanger civilian populations and United Nations personnel. This escalation of violence is deeply concerning,” he said.

Lemarquis said attacks on UN personnel could constitute war crimes under the Rome Statute and urged all parties to respect international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and civilian sites.

“We call on all parties to immediately cease hostilities, in accordance with their commitment to respect the ceasefire; to prioritize the path of a political solution and dialogue in order to protect civilian populations; and to capitalize on the gains recently achieved within the framework of peace efforts,” he said.

He urged a “swift, independent and credible” investigation to determine who was responsible for the strike and bring them to justice.

M23 rebel spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said Goma was struck by a drone in the morning.

Images on social media from the scene showed a heavily damaged building with part of the roof torn off and walls marked by shrapnel.

Separately, Rwanda government deputy spokesperson Jean Maurice Uwera said in a post on X that the “drone attack in Goma underscores the threat near Rwanda’s border.”

Despite a US-brokered accord and a ceasefire proposal by Angola last month, violence has escalated in recent days between Congolese forces and M23 rebels, causing mass displacement.

Congo, the UN and Western countries accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels -- an allegation Kigali denies.

On Tuesday, the Congolese military said it shot down two drones belonging to the Rwanda Defense Force and “their allies” after they allegedly violated Congolese airspace in the Minembwe area in eastern Congo.

The M23 controls significant territory, including the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu, which it seized earlier in 2025.

*Merve Aydogan in Toronto, Mevlut Ozkan in Istanbul contributed to this story​​​​​​​