DR Congo government forces launched an attack on the M23 rebel group in the country's east, using drones to strike a strategic mining site occupied by the rebels, security sources told AFP on Wednesday.
The fighting on Wednesday was concentrated in particular in areas near the mining town of Rubaya, where M23 rebels were hit by a drone strike the previous day, local and security sources told AFP.
The Rubaya mine produces 15 to 30% of the world's supply of coltan, key to making electronics like laptops and mobile phones.
The M23 has taken vast tracts of the DRC's resource-rich east, capturing the Rubaya mine in North Kivu province in April 2024.
M23's attack draws widespread condemnation
In December 2025, the M23 rebelslaunched an offensive on Uvira, a strategic town in South Kivu province near the border with Burundi.
The attack drew widespread condemnation, including from the United States, which has mediated a peace deal between the DRC and Rwanda.
Angola, another mediator, had proposed a ceasefire to take effect on February 18, though fighting is yet to subside.
On Wednesday, local fighters backed by Congolese soldiers carried out attacks across several points of the front line in North Kivu, particularly in Masisi – where Rubaya is located – according to local and security sources.
Parallel administration
These fighters captured the village of Kazinga on Wednesday, some 20 kilometres northwest of Rubaya, the same sources said.
According to UN experts, the M23 has set up an administration parallel to the Congolese state to regulate the operation of the Rubaya mine since its capture.
"In central Rubaya, people are terrified. I went to see the place where the drone struck, but access was denied," a resident told AFP on Tuesday, requesting anonymity.
AFP was unable to confirm the death toll from the strike as phone networks in the area have been down since Tuesday.
Clashes in South Kivu highlands
Clashes were also reported on Wednesday in the South Kivu highlands, where the Congolese army is battling a coalition of militias allied with the M23.
Regional specialists and security sources told AFP that the DRC army has secured relative control of its skies thanks to long-range Chinese and Turkish drones, and the help of foreign troops.
