Despite repeated peace appeals, the relentless fighting in Minembwe, South Kivu, continues to devastate civilian lives through austerity bombardments, forced displacements, and escalating insecurity.
The Congolese and Rwandan governments recently reaffirmed their commitment to peace during a London meeting on June 24. Both sides agreed to enforce the June 2025 peace accord, uphold the ceasefire, and ease tensions in this contested region.
Minembwe remains a strategically critical area, contested by the Congolese army and the AFC-M23 rebels through their allied militias, Wazalendo and Twirwaneho.
Healthcare infrastructure under siege
The daily clashes in this administrative entity within Fizi territory have resulted in significant human and material losses. A local resident described how drone strikes have repeatedly targeted even essential services:
The pediatric ward was struck yesterday. The Ilundu health center nearby the airstrip was also bombed. The drones disrupt our lives daily. People have fled. The situation is dire. These drone attacks never stop.
Civilians trapped in a prolonged humanitarian crisis
The recent surge in fighting around Minembwe has forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes. The South Kivu Civil Society Organizations Collective is urgently demanding respect for signed agreements, beginning with the ceasefire.
We condemn the ongoing targeting of civilians by warring factions across the region,
says Hypocrate Marume, a member of the South Kivu civil society coordination framework. The population keeps displacing. The crisis is worsening, and it is our people who are paying the ultimate price. As civil society, we urge both parties to lay down arms and negotiate in the name of peace.
The high-stakes battle for control
The conflict in Minembwe is fueled by deep-rooted communal tensions and a struggle for dominance over a region critical both militarily and symbolically.
Professor Philippe Doudou Kaganda, scientific director of the Great Lakes Conflict and Peace Research Center, highlights Minembwe’s strategic importance:
Minembwe is a vast territory that enables the faction controlling it to launch counter-offensives against rival groups, whether in the highlands or the Ruzizi plain. It serves as a crucial junction linking Mwenga territory. Minembwe has been a conflict hotspot for decades. When a faction seizes control, it signifies a territorial and ethnicized war victory.
For the residents of Minembwe, peace remains an elusive dream as drone strikes and gunfire dominate their daily lives.