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France Opens War Crimes Probe After Drone Strike Kills French UNICEF Worker in Goma

Investigators are working to identify who launched the pre-dawn attack in a city controlled by M23.

Overview

  • A French anti-terror prosecutor opened an urgent investigation for murder constituting a war crime and assigned it to the national gendarmerie’s OCLCH unit.
  • The victim, UNICEF staffer Karine Buisset, 54, died when an explosive device hit the house where she was staying in Goma, according to French and UN authorities.
  • Local and humanitarian sources reported several sites struck overnight March 10–11 with multiple fatalities, and an AFP team documented a residence heavily damaged and partially burned.
  • Witnesses described hearing drone sounds before and after detonations, though responders reported no identifiable debris and the attack remains unattributed.
  • The M23/AFC accuse the Congolese army, while Kinshasa denies responsibility, expresses regret over the death, and says it has opened its own inquiry; Goma has been under M23 control since January 2025 and both sides have used drones in the conflict.