Kinshasa, DR Congo
The acting head of the United Nations Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) landed Thursday morning at Goma airport, which had been closed for over a year by the M23 armed group.
The east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), torn by conflict for 30 years, has been plagued since late 2021 by the resurgence of the M23, supported by Kigali and its army.
Goma, a major city in the east, fell to the M23 in January 2025 after a lightning offensive that left thousands dead.
Its international airport, the scene of fierce fighting during the capture of the city, has since been closed by the M23.
On Thursday morning, Vivian van de Perre, acting head of MONUSCO, landed on the tarmac at Goma airport aboard a UN helicopter.
Vivian van de Perre touched down in the eastern city in a UN helicopter in what the mission said was “an important milestone after a prolonged interruption of air access”.
M23 fighters seized Goma in January last year as part of a lightning offensive across the country’s resource-rich east that left thousands dead. (Photo by Jospin Mwisha / AFP)
This arrival marks โan important operational milestone after a prolonged interruption of air access to the city since January 2025,โ MONUSCO said in a statement released on Thursday.
The UN mission, which has 8,000 peacekeepers deployed in eastern DRC, retained its bases in Goma after the city was taken, but no longer had access to the airport.
In December, the DRC and Rwanda signed a peace agreement in Washington that did not end the fighting.
The text provides for the intervention of the United Nations Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) for a field monitoring mission with a view to implementing a โpermanentโ ceasefire.
This mission is expected to be deployed in the coming weeks in Uvira, a town on the Burundi border, which the M23 seized in December before withdrawing under pressure from Washington.
On Tuesday, the UN said it wanted to use Goma airport to deploy its ceasefire monitoring mission in Uvira.
โI am going to Goma to support preparations for monitoring and verifying the ceasefire,โ said Vivian van de Perre, quoted in the MONUSCO statement.
Angola, which has resumed its mediation efforts in the conflict in recent weeks, has proposed a new ceasefire between Kinshasa forces and the M23 starting on Wednesday.
Humaniterre with AFP
