The leader of the AFC/M23 rebel movement in the Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed responsibility for a drone attack targeting the airport in the northeastern city of Kisangani, describing it as a warning to the government.

In a statement posted on X on Tuesday, rebel leader Corneille Nangaa said the operation demonstrated that the Congolese army's "air superiority" had been broken. He warned that any aircraft used in operations against rebel-held areas would be targeted "at their source," adding that Kisangani would no longer be allowed to serve as a rear base for government military operations.

Authorities in Tshopo province said on Sunday that eight drones carrying explosives had targeted the Kisangani airport but were all shot down before reaching their objective. No casualties were reported.

Kisangani lies around 17 kilometres from the city centre and hundreds of kilometres from the main front lines in North and South Kivu, where the AFC/M23 has captured large areas of territory since 2022, including the key cities of Goma and Bukavu during a rapid offensive last year.

The claim of responsibility comes just a day after the Congolese government and the AFC/M23, meeting in Doha under Qatari mediation, agreed on the deployment of the first United Nations team tasked with monitoring a ceasefire, underscoring the fragility of the truce.