DRC Red Cross Condemns Killing of Two Volunteers

The Red Cross of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has condemned the killing of two of its volunteers in Walungu Territory, South Kivu Province.

In a statement released on Tuesday night, the agency’s Director of Communication, Kally Maluku Mankatu, identified the victims as Kabula Byamungu Mugisha and Romain Mugisho Mparanya. 

The two volunteers were killed on June 16, 2026, in Musiru Centre, Kalumba Village, Mulamba Groupement, Ngweshe Chiefdom, Walungu Territory.

According to the statement, Byamungu and Mugisho were carrying out an official humanitarian mission aimed at improving access to safe drinking water for vulnerable communities when they were attacked by unidentified armed men.

The National President of the DRC Red Cross, Grégoire Mateso Mbuta Way, says the victims were wearing the Red Cross emblem, a universal symbol of neutrality, impartiality, and humanitarian assistance, when they were attacked and shot dead.

Mateso says the deaths of the two volunteers are a tragic reminder of the extreme dangers humanitarian workers face daily in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

He also says the agency stands with the victims’ families and the entire International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. 

The Congolese security authorities have not yet issued a statement regarding the killings.   

Walungu Territory is among the areas in South and North Kivu Provinces experiencing clashes between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and a coalition of Wazalendo fighters battling the March 23 Movement/Alliance Fleuve Congo (M23/AFC) rebels.

Both sides have repeatedly traded accusations of targeting civilians during the conflict. Byamungu and Mugisho are not the only humanitarian workers to have been killed in eastern DR Congo.

In March 2026, Carine Buisset, a French national and staff member of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), was killed in a drone strike in the Himbi area near Lake Kivu in Goma City, North Kivu Province. 

Three other civilians were also killed in the attack. M23/AFC rebels accused FARDC of carrying out the strike, but the Congolese army strongly denied the allegations.