The security situation in Minembwe, located in South Kivu province, remains deeply troubling. In response, both the Congolese and Rwandan governments have once again pledged to pursue peace. Meeting this Wednesday in London, the two sides agreed to implement the peace accord signed in June 2025, uphold the ceasefire, and reduce tensions in the Minembwe area.
Minembwe is a strategic territory. The Congolese army and AFC-M23 rebels are vying for control through their respective allies—the Wazalendo and Twirwaneho militias.
A war that spares nothing, not even health facilities
Fighting continues daily in this administrative entity within Fizi territory. Human casualties and material damage are reported almost every day. A local resident describes drone strikes that have targeted even the General Referral Hospital of Minembwe and several health centers. “The pediatrics block was bombed yesterday. The Ilundu health center near the airstrip was also hit. Every day there is war, and the drones terrorize the population. People have fled. The situation is dire. These drone attacks keep happening.”
Civilians trapped in an endless war
In recent weeks, the escalation of clashes around Minembwe has forced many civilians to flee. The collective of civil society organizations in South Kivu demands that all signed agreements be respected, starting with the ceasefire.
“We deplore that civilians continue to be preyed upon by belligerents everywhere,” says Hypocrate Marume, a member of the South Kivu civil society coordination framework. “The population keeps moving. The crisis is intensifying, and it is us, the people, who are being killed. As civil society in South Kivu, we reiterate our call for both parties to lay down their arms and talk for the sake of peace.”
The battle for a highly strategic zone
The clashes in Minembwe are part of a broader context of community tensions and rivalry for control of an area that holds both military and symbolic importance. Professor Philippe Doudou Kaganda, scientific director of the Center for Research on Conflicts and Peace in the Great Lakes region, explains: “Minembwe is a vast space that would allow whichever faction occupies it to launch counter-offensives against adversaries, both in the middle plateaus and the Ruzizi plain. It is a crossroads that connects to Mwenga territory. Minembwe has also been a conflict zone for decades. When one faction conquers it, that signals a certain victory in a territorial and ethnicized war.”
Peace remains a distant dream for the residents of Minembwe, who now live under the constant threat of drone bombardments and near-permanent exchanges of fire.
