Something shifted at the United Nations Security Council yesterday, March 26, 2026.
Massad Boulos, serving as a senior envoy for the Trump administration, stood before an open briefing on DRC, and called on all parties to immediately halt drone attacks that continue to claim the lives of innocent civilians.
The statement was a bit shameful in its “both sides” formulation, but the target was unmistakable.
The only party deploying drones against Congolese civilian populations in eastern DRC is the regime of Congolese ruler Tshisekedi.
For the Banyamulenge, a Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese community of cattle herders whose homeland is the high plateaus of South Kivu, this was not a small moment. These are people who have spent years being dismissed as “foreigners”, in their own country, accused of “loyalty” to Rwanda simply because of the language they speak. It’s the excuse the government of Tshisekedi has used for his policy of genocide against them.
The UN has warned repeatedly about the hate speech directed at the Congolese Tutsi communities. In 2022, UN Special Adviser Alice Nderitu visited the region and came back with a clear warning, describing conditions consistent with early indicators of genocide. The report pointed specifically at widespread attacks against the Banyamulenge.
What is happening in Minembwe today is a coordinated campaign.
The Tshisekedi regime, operating alongside the Burundian army, the tropical nazis from FDLR, and Wazalendo militias, has been orchestrating drone strikes on civilian targets as well as critical infrastructure in Minembwe and surrounding areas.
That Tshisekedi chooses to partner with FDLR (going as far as integrating them in the FARDC) says everything one needs to know about the genocidal character of this campaign.
Burundi, for its part, has gone from regional neighbour to active participant in this campaign, with drones operated from its territory striking communities in Kalehe and Minembwe.
The Banyamulenge have been raising these alarms for years. The question now is whether Washington’s shift in tone will translate into real pressure before the highlands of South Kivu become the site of another genocide in the Great Lakes region while the world watches and forgets.
ellenkampire