In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the security situation remains dire in Minembwe, located in South Kivu province, even as both Congolese and Rwandan governments have reaffirmed their commitment to peace.

Meeting in London on Wednesday, the two sides agreed to implement the peace accord signed in June 2025, enforce the ceasefire, and reduce tensions in Minembwe.

This strategic area is contested between the Congolese army and AFC-M23 rebels, each backed by allied militias—the Wazalendo and Twirwaneho respectively.

War spares no one, not even health facilities

Fighting continues daily in this administrative entity of Fizi territory, with near-daily reports of casualties and material damage. A local resident described drone bombardments, saying even the Minembwe general reference hospital and several health centres have been targeted. “The paediatric ward was bombed yesterday. The Ilundu health centre near the airstrip was also hit. Every day there is war, and the drones terrorise the population. People have fled. The situation is not good. The drone attacks keep coming.”

Civilians trapped in a never-ending war

In recent weeks, intensified clashes around Minembwe have triggered mass displacement. The South Kivu civil society organisations collective demands respect for all signed agreements, starting with the ceasefire.

“We deplore that civilians continue to be prey for 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 South Kivu civil society, we reiterate our call for both parties to lay down their arms and talk in the name of peace.”

The battle for a highly strategic zone

The clashes in Minembwe occur against a backdrop of communal tensions and rivalry for control of an area that holds both military and symbolic importance.

Professor Philippe Doudou Kaganda, scientific director of the Centre for Research on Conflict and Peace in the Great Lakes Region, explains: “Minembwe is a vast space that would allow the faction occupying it to launch counter-offensives against adversaries, both in the middle plateaus and the Ruzizi plain. It is a crossroads linking to Mwenga territory. Minembwe has also been a conflict zone for decades. When one faction captures it, it signals a victory in a territorial and ethnicised war.”

Peace remains a distant dream for Minembwe’s residents, who now live under constant threat of drone strikes and near‑incessant gunfire.