Caution: These Lives Don’t Matter! — Tshisekedi’s Regime Continues to Kill in Silence
- PoliScoop
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
A ceremony was held on Wednesday 8th January 2026, in Goma to honor the victims of a drone bombing carried out by the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) on January 2, 2026, in Masisi-Centre. The bodies of the victims were honored at the Unité Stadium before their burial on Thursday in Mubambiro, in Masisi territory. Bereaved families, members of the local population, and AFC-M23 leadership were in attendance.
According to information released after the incident, at least twenty three civilians were killed in the FARDC drone strike, victims included women and children. The attack once again placed the spotlight on the Kinshasa regime and its deadly consequences for civilian populations in eastern DRC.
A Recurring Pattern Under the Tshisekedi Administration
The Masisi-Centre bombing did not occur in isolation. It followed a long series of attacks by the FARDC under the authority of President Félix Tshisekedi, often in coordination with allied armed groups, including the Wazalendo militia, the terrorist genocidaires group FDLR, and Burundian forces. These operations have repeatedly resulted in civilian casualties, displacement, and widespread destruction.
The AFC-M23 reiterated after the Masisi-Centre strike what it has consistently claimed for years: that FARDC-led operations are marked by indiscriminate tactics that place civilians in danger. While the government in Kinshasa has framed its actions as efforts to restore state authority, the human cost borne by civilians continues to mount, with no evidence of accountability.
International Complicity and Silence
The role of the international community, particularly the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), has increasingly come under scrutiny. Following the Masisi-Centre attack, the AFC-M23 accused MONUSCO of direct complicity, stating that its intelligence and reconnaissance activities enabled coalition forces loyal to Kinshasa (namely Wazalendo, Burundian forces) to carry out the drone strike that left at least ten civilians dead and more than fifty injured.
Beyond this specific incident, there is a broader issue: MONUSCO’s repeated reluctance to clearly identify perpetrators when civilians are killed by government or allied forces. This silence, despite the frequency and scale of civilian casualties, has fueled accusations that the mission’s neutrality has been compromised. To date, no transparent investigation findings have been made public regarding responsibility for the Masisi-Centre strike.
Violence Spreading Across Eastern DRC by FARDC and Allies
Throughout December 2025, violence continued across multiple fronts. On Sunday, December 7, 2025, clashes between the FARDC and Wazalendo fighters in the town of Sange resulted in the deaths of numerous civilians, as well as several Wazalendo combatants attempting to flee the front line. The fighting, involving heavy and light weapons, left many others injured and forced families to flee once again.
Images circulating on social media and reported by international outlets documented extensive destruction following bombings attributed to the Kinshasa government’s coalition forces, including FARDC units, FDLR genocidaires elements, Burundian troops, Mai-Mai Wazalendo, and mercenaries. Coordinated massacres were reported in Mutarule, Luvungi, and Kamanyola on Friday, December 5, 2025, where women, children, and elderly people were among those killed.
These incidents echoed earlier massacres in different parts of Congo, reinforcing concerns that civilians in eastern DR Congo are systematically exposed to extreme violence with little to no international response.
Humanitarian Collapse and Neglected Victims
In Ituri province, the humanitarian situation deteriorated sharply. Since December 26, 2025, twenty three seriously injured people, including nine children, were transferred to Salama Hospital in Bunia, supported by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), following clashes between the FARDC and local armed groups in Bule and Mabanga.
In Djugu territory, including Bulé, Fataki, and Iga Barrière, reports described systematic killings, mutilations, and villages reduced to ashes. At Fataki Hospital, approximately 15 km from Bule, twenty two wounded people were treated.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), insecurity prevented humanitarian access to more than 87,000 internally displaced people living in Bule and surrounding areas. Local authorities reported that at least seventeen people died between December 5 and December 29 due to harsh living conditions, lack of medical care, and hunger. These deaths did not result from active fighting but from neglect, displacement, and the collapse of basic services by the DRC government.
Ceasefires Violated, Civilians Targeted
On December 19, 2025, Bertrand Bisimwa, president of the M23, stated on X that the Mikenke area was bombarded starting at 6:38 a.m., in what he described as a violation of ceasefire commitments by Kinshasa. This occurred shortly after the AFC-M23 withdrew from Uvira and declared a unilateral ceasefire.
Earlier, at 03:00 on October 28, coalition forces launched a full-scale offensive along all fronts. Heavy artillery and drones targeted Kibati, Bibwe, Nyabiondo, and Bukombo, killing many women and children. Drone attacks continued against Luki and Masisi until November 11.
From November 19, 2025, fighter jets, drones, and artillery were again deployed, violating the Peace Framework signed in Doha on November 15. By November 24, Su-25 aircraft were conducting multiple daily strikes on civilian areas. From December 2, assaults hit Katogota–Luvungi, Kaziba–Haut Plateau, Tchivanga–Hombo, and Kasika–Mwenga. Kamanyola was bombed, killing three people and injuring five.
On December 3, attacks originating from Burundi killed four people and injured six in Kamanyola, including Salomon Mulikuza (55), Issaka Musafiri (24), Pierre Byamungu (12), Véronique (3), Neema (23), and Anita (12). On December 4 at 09:00, a school in Mudaka was bombed during class time. Bombings continued through December 5 in Rubumba–Kamanyola, killing Ivone Fulwa (25), Adeline Barebwa (3), Richelie Barebwa (11), and Cikuru Lutwamungu, and gravely injuring Emmanuel Barebwa (37) and Sifa M’Buhendwa (32).
Lives That Draw No Outrage
Despite the scale of civilian suffering at the hands of the DRC government coalition, international reactions have remained muted. No meaningful sanctions, no high-level investigations, and no decisive diplomatic pressure have followed these events. The deaths of civilians in eastern DRC—including women, children, and the elderly—continue to register as background noise in global politics.
Under President Tshisekedi’s leadership, alliances with armed and terrorist groups have deepened, and civilian casualties have risen. Yet the international community, including the United Nations and key foreign partners, has avoided confronting Kinshasa over these outcomes. Why do these lives not matter?
As violence persists and accountability remains absent, civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to pay the costly price—caught between a government that kills its own people and an international system that has chosen silence over justice.
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