GOMA. The Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC/M23) has issued a sharply worded statement rejecting President Félix Tshisekedi’s plan to reopen Goma International Airport, escalating tensions just days after France announced the airport would be used for humanitarian flights.
In a statement dated November 16, 2025, the rebel coalition said Kinshasa has “neither the legitimacy nor the right” to reopen airport infrastructure located in what it describes as “liberated territory.”
“The illusory decision by Mr. Tshisekedi Tshilombo… to plan the reopening of Goma Airport from Kinshasa is entirely unacceptable,” the group said.
“The airport can and will be reopened solely by AFC/M23, not by Mr. Tshisekedi Tshilombo or any other party.”
The statement comes amid heightened diplomatic activity following French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement in Paris that humanitarian corridors—supported by the reopening of Goma airport—were being prepared in coordination with international partners.
Kinshasa welcomed the move, describing the situation in eastern Congo as a severe humanitarian emergency.
Goma International Airport—located near some of the heaviest fighting—has become a focal point of political and military contention. Control over the airport carries major humanitarian, strategic, and symbolic implications.
The airport serves as the primary entry point for emergency aid into eastern Congo and lies near frontline areas where M23 has made successive gains.
For Kinshasa and its international partners, reopening the airport is necessary to deliver food, medicine, and shelter to millions displaced by the conflict.
For the M23, it represents a lever of territorial legitimacy and a bargaining chip in ongoing Doha and Washington peace processes.
The AFC/M23 also denied any role in the ongoing diplomatic standoff between Kinshasa and Kigali, asserting that the tension “in no way concerns” the rebel alliance.
“The dispute initiated and continuously fueled by Kinshasa with the Republic of Rwanda… must be resolved by the Kinshasa regime alone,” the statement reads.
“It must resolve its disputes without attempting to involve our organisation.”
President Tshisekedi has repeatedly accused Rwanda of providing logistical and military support to M23—a claim documented by UN experts but denied by Kigali.
Military Retaliation
The AFC/M23 said its forces continue to repel what it called “military equipment deployments across all front lines” by the Congolese government, along with the presence of foreign mercenaries.
The group also accused Kinshasa of sabotaging critical infrastructure in zones now under rebel control.
The AFC/M23 statement underscores the widening rift between the Congolese state and the rebel coalition as regional and global actors attempt to revive stalled peace negotiations.
With the Doha talks expected to continue—and Washington reportedly preparing to convene President Tshisekedi and President Paul Kagame under U.S. mediation—the dispute over Goma airport adds another layer of complexity to one of Africa’s most volatile conflicts.