In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, security conditions in Minembwe, South Kivu province, remain alarming. Congolese and Rwandan authorities recently reaffirmed their commitment to peace during a meeting in London, agreeing to enforce the ceasefire signed in June 2025 and ease tensions in Minembwe.

Minembwe is a strategic area fiercely contested between the Congolese army and AFC-M23 rebels, each backed by local militias – the Wazalendo and Twirwaneho.

A war that spares nothing, not even health facilities

Fighting continues daily in this administrative entity within Fizi territory. Casualties and material damage mount every day, as described by a resident of Minembwe who spoke of drone bombardments. He said even the Minembwe general referral hospital and several health centers have been targeted: “The pediatric ward was bombed yesterday. The Ilundu health center near the airstrip was also bombed. Every day there is war, and drones disturb the population. People have fled. The situation is not good. There are always these drone attacks.”

Civilians trapped in an endless war

In recent weeks, intensified clashes around Minembwe have triggered mass displacement of civilians. The collective of civil society organizations in South Kivu is demanding that all signed agreements be respected, starting with the ceasefire.

“We deplore the fact that civilians continue to be prey to belligerents everywhere,” stated Hypocrate Marume, a member of the South Kivu civil society coordination framework. “The population continues to move. The crisis is intensifying, and it is us, the population, who are being killed. As civil society of South Kivu, we reiterate our commitment to ask both parties to lay down arms and discuss for peace.”

The battle for a highly strategic area

The clashes in Minembwe take place against a backdrop of communal tensions and rivalry for control of a zone that holds both military and symbolic significance.

Professor Philippe Doudou Kaganda, scientific director of the Centre for Research on Conflict and Peace in the Great Lakes Region, explained: “Minembwe is a vast area that would allow the faction occupying it to launch counter-offensives against rival factions, both in the middle plateaus and in the Ruzizi plain. It is a crossroads that connects to Mwenga territory. Minembwe has also been a conflict zone for decades. When conquered by a faction, it signifies a certain victory in a territorial and ethnicized war.”

Peace remains a distant dream for the inhabitants of Minembwe, who now live under the constant threat of drone bombardments and nearly uninterrupted gunfire.