M23 rebel group holds a symbolic funeral for victims of drone strike in eastern Congo

GOMA, Congo (AP) — The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group on Thursday held a symbolic burial for 22 people killed in a drone strike earlier this month in the North Kivu province in eastern Congo.

M23 claimed that the attack, which targeted their military positions in the Masisi territory on Jan. 2, was carried out by the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and their allies.

The rebel group said all the victims are civilians, a claim questioned by at least one expert who said some may have been combatants killed in fighting.

The FARDC has not commented on the attack. Patrick Muyaya, the spokesperson for the Congolese government, said in a post on X that Thursday's funeral was “the height of indecency and inhumanity.”

“The mass graves, the bodies abandoned by the roadside, the villages emptied of their inhabitants," he said. “No ceremony, no staged event, no fabricated narrative can erase the reality of these crimes, nor absolve the father #Rwanda and the #M23 who planned, ordered, and executed them.”

The burial comes as the rebel group engages in ongoing negotiations with the Congolese government to end decades of fighting.

The ceremony was held at the Unity Stadium in Goma, the provincial capital, in the presence of M23 administration officials, representatives of religious groups and hundreds of family members of the victims. The bodies, accompanied by relatives, had been transferred the day before from Masisi to the provincial capital.

According to the M23, the victims died in strikes carried out using so-called kamikaze drones in several localities in the Masisi territory. Three other people were reportedly buried on site, the rebels said, while dozens were injured as a result of the explosions.

The medical director of Masisi General Hospital, Théophile Kubuya Hangi, said the facility had received 47 wounded after the explosions.

“Twenty-two people died from their injuries. Fourteen wounded are still hospitalized and receiving care,” he told the AP.

Promesse Hagenimana was among those injured in the bombing.

“We were standing on the road in front of a concrete house. Moments later, the house exploded before our eyes,” she said. “We threw ourselves to the ground. When I got up, my arm felt heavy. Next to me, a little boy was dead. I ran to the hospital before losing consciousness. ”

The administrator of the Masisi territory, Emmanuel Ndizeye, said during the ceremony that the area had been hit by “a series of bombings.” He specified that the bodies transferred to Goma came only from areas accessible by road.

“In some localities, insecurity and the state of the roads do not allow for the evacuation of victims, who have been buried on site,” he said.

Erasto Musanga, named as the governor of North Kivu by the M23 administration, accused Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi of being responsible for the violence.

“Even as we speak, Tshisekedi is killing more people,” he said, threatening legal action through the M23's own justice system.

During the ceremony, several family members, in tears, approached the coffins of their loved ones. None agreed to speak to the media.

According to researcher Stewart Muhindo from the Kinshasa-based Ebuteli research center, “the figure of 22 civilians killed is greatly exaggerated,” and could be intended to elicit sympathy from the international community.

He said that according to sources on the ground in Masisi, the actual number of civilian casualties did not appear to exceed a dozen, adding that some of the coffins presented could contain the bodies of combatants killed in the clashes.

Congo, the U.S. and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which has grown from hundreds of members in 2021 to around 6,500 fighters, according to the U.N.

More than 100 armed groups are vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo, near the border with Rwanda, most prominently M23. The conflict has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises, with more than 7 million people displaced, according to the U.N. agency for refugees.

Despite the signing of a deal between the Congolese and Rwandan governments brokered by the U.S. and ongoing negotiations between rebels and Congo, fighting continues on several fronts in eastern Congo, continuing to claim numerous civilian and military casualties.

Corneille Nanga, coordinator of the AFC/M23, center, attends the funeral service for civilians killed in a drone strike in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

A woman mourns at the symbolic funeral service for civilians killed in a drone strike in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/ Moses Sawasawa)

The families of victims mourn at the funeral service for civilians killed in a drone strike in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

People carry the coffin of a victim of a drone strike in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Thursday Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

The families of victims mourn at the funeral service for civilians killed in a drone strike in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Federal immigration agents shot and wounded two people in a vehicle outside a hospital in Portland on Thursday, a day after an officer fatally shot a woman in Minnesota, authorities said.

The shooting drew hundreds of protesters to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building at night, and Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield vowed to investigate “whether any federal officer acted outside the scope of their lawful authority” and refer criminal charges to the prosecutor's office if warranted.

The Department of Homeland Security said the vehicle's passenger was “a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring” who was involved in a recent shooting in the city. When agents identified themselves to the occupants during a “targeted vehicle stop” in the afternoon, the driver tried to run them over, the department said in a statement.

“Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot,” it said. “The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene.”

There was no immediate independent corroboration of that account or of any gang affiliation of the vehicle's occupants. During prior shootings involving agents from President Donald Trump's immigration crackdowns in U.S. cities, including the fatal one Wednesday in Minneapolis, video evidence has cast doubt on the administration's characterizations of what prompted the shootings.

Trump and his allies have consistently blamed the Tren de Aragua gang for being at the root of violence and drug dealing in some U.S. cities.

The Portland shooting escalates tensions in a city that has long had a contentious relationship with Trump, including due to his recent failed effort to deploy National Guard troops there. The city saw long-running nightly protests outside the ICE building.

According to the Portland Police bureau, officers initially responded to a report of a shooting outside Adventist Health hospital at 2:18 p.m. Thursday.

A few minutes later, police received information that a man who had been shot was asking for help in a residential area a couple of miles away. Officers went there and found a man and a woman with gunshot wounds. Officers determined that they were injured in the shooting with federal agents, police said.

Their conditions were not immediately known. Portland police said officers applied a tourniquet to one of them.

City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney said during a meeting that “as far as we know, both of these individuals are still alive, and we are hoping for more positive updates throughout the afternoon.”

At a nighttime news conference, Police Chief Bob Day said the FBI was leading the investigation and he had no details about the events that led to the shooting.

Mayor Keith Wilson and the City Council called on ICE to end all operations in Oregon’s largest city until a full investigation is completed.

“We stand united as elected officials in saying that we cannot sit by while constitutional protections erode and bloodshed mounts,” they said in a statement. “Portland is not a ‘training ground’ for militarized agents, and the ‘full force’ threatened by the administration has deadly consequences.”

Wilson also suggested at a news conference that he does not necessarily believe the federal government's account of the shooting: “There was a time we could take them at their word. That time is long past.”

Democratic State Sen. Kayse Jama, who lives near where it took place, said Oregon is a welcoming state — but he told federal agents to leave.

“You are not welcome,” Jama said. “You need to get the hell out of Oregon.”

The city officials said “federal militarization undermines effective, community‑based public safety, and it runs counter to the values that define our region. We’ll use every legal and legislative tool available to protect our residents’ civil and human rights.”

They urged residents to show up with “calm and purpose during this difficult time.”

Several dozen people gathered in the evening near the scene where police found the wounded people.

“It’s just been chaos,” said one, Anjalyssa Jones. “The community is trying to get answers.”

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, urged protesters to remain peaceful.

“Trump wants to generate riots,” he said on the social platform X. “Don’t take the bait.”

Johnson reported from Seattle. Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed.

A protester yells at a Portland police officer outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Protesters and law enforcement stand outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

A protester yells at a Portland police officer outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Law enforcement officials work the scene following reports that federal immigration officers shot and wounded people in Portland, Ore., Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

A security guard stands at the scene following reports that federal immigration officers shot and wounded people in Portland, Ore., Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Law enforcement officials work the scene following reports that federal immigration officers shot and wounded people in Portland, Ore., Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez, center, speaks to the media following reports that federal immigration officers shot and wounded people in Portland, Ore., Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Law enforcement officials work the scene following reports that federal immigration officers shot and wounded people in Portland, Ore., Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Law enforcement officials work the scene following reports that federal immigration officers shot and wounded people in Portland, Ore., Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

FILE - The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seal during a news conference June 28, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)