KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A spokesperson for the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels fighting in eastern Congo has been killed in a drone strike, a local U.N. official and a rights group said Tuesday, escalating tensions over the region's conflict after peace negotiations stalled.
Willy Ngoma, a senior officer who was deeply involved in M23's operations, was said to have been killed in a predawn drone strike near the North Kivu province’s mining town of Rubaya.
The U.N. official and a coordinator with the rights group working in the area spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity for fear of their lives.
Rubaya residents told the AP that the drone strike targeted a spot that has in recent weeks served as an enclave for the M23.
The decades-long conflict escalated in January last year after the rebels made an unprecedented advance into the key cities of Goma and Bukavu, further expanding their control of several cities and towns in the hard-hit region. The conflict has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with more than 7 million people displaced.
It wasn't immediately clear who carried out the drone strike, viewed by many in Congo as a setback to peace efforts that partners hoped would bring permanent peace and prevent a regional conflict.
The drone strike came weeks after both Congo and M23 rebels agreed to a ceasefire and methods of monitoring it with help from the U.N.mission in Congo. Both parties traded accusations of violating the terms of the truce.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Qatar have brokered peace efforts, but clashes have continued in recent weeks.
FILE - Surrounded by members of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), Willy Ngoma, spokesman of the M23, center, arrives for a ceremony to mark the withdrawal from their positions in the town of Kibumba, in the eastern of Democratic Republic of Congo, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa, File)
PARIS (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to France sought Tuesday to smooth over a diplomatic spat with Paris, calling up the French foreign minister who had said earlier in the day that the U.S. diplomat would lose access to French government officials after he skipped a meeting.
French authorities had summoned Ambassador Charles Kushner — the father of U.S. President Donald Trump ’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner — over comments from the Trump administration that France objected to. But Kushner did not show up for the Monday night evening, the foreign ministry said.
The U.S. Embassy did not respond to repeated requests for comment. But after French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Tuesday morning that the no-show would dent the ambassador's ability to serve in France, Kushner telephoned the minister and they agreed to meet in coming days, Barrot's office said.
The affair was sparked by Trump administration tweets relating to the beating death in France of a far-right activist, Quentin Deranque. The 23-year-old student, described as a fervent nationalist, was beaten by a group of people earlier this month in the city of Lyon, in fighting that erupted between far-left and far-right activists. He later died of brain injuries.
In a post last week on X, the State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau said “violent radical leftism is on the rise and its role in Quentin Deranque’s death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety.”
The U.S. Embassy in Paris posted the same statement, in French.
The Paris government bristled at what it regarded as interference in French affairs and summoned Kushner. The ambassador's subsequent call to Barrot on Tuesday after his no-show appeared to then help turn the page.
Barrot reiterated to the ambassador that France cannot accept foreign interference, the minister's office said. Kushner “took note, expressed his willingness not to interfere in our public debate, and recalled the friendship that binds France and the United States," it said. They agreed to meet in coming days, it said.
Before the call, Barrot had described the no-show as “a surprise” that flew in the face of diplomatic protocol.
“It will, naturally, affect his capacity to exercise his mission in our country,” Barrot said, speaking to public broadcaster France Info.
He said that Kushner "is bringing difficulties on himself. Because for an ambassador to be able to do his job he needs access to members of the government. That’s the basics.”
“There is nothing more usual than summoning an ambassador when explanations need to be made," he said. “When these explanations have taken place, then the U.S. ambassador in France will, naturally, regain access to members of the French government.”
“We don’t accept that foreign countries can come and interfere, invite themselves, into the national political debate," he said.
The U.S. Embassy did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment on Monday before the summons and follow-up questions on Tuesday also got no reply.
Barrot had earlier made clear that the dust-up should not hurt broader U.S.-France relations.
“Not showing up is his personal responsibility," he said. "It does not affect the relationship between France and the United States in any way.”
Last August, Paris also summoned Kushner over a letter he wrote to French President Emmanuel Macron alleging that France did not do enough to combat antisemitism. The foreign ministry called his allegations “unacceptable.”
At the time, Kushner also did not respond to the summons but sent his No. 2 instead.
FILE - U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner gives a news conference marking the 250th birthday of the U.S. in 2026, in Paris, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
