TB2 Drones Reportedly Used in Rwanda-Backed DR Congo Strikes

Lead: Congo’s army says a Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 combat drone, allegedly flown from Rwandan territory, bombed a hotel in the eastern town of Fizi on August 19, targeting senior Congolese and Burundian officers meeting to plan an offensive. The strike, confirmed by multiple Congolese and Burundian outlets but not independently verified, is the clearest sign yet that Turkish-origin unmanned systems have entered the Rwanda-backed M23 war in South Kivu — a conflict already drawing in Chinese, Estonian and now apparently Turkish drone technology, alongside American private military contractors flying their own UAVs for the other side.

What Happened

Around 1:00 a.m. on August 19, two projectiles struck the Hôtel Mwalu in Fizi-Centre, South Kivu province, wounding at least two people, including hotel manager Mwando Lukaba, and causing significant structural damage, according to Congolese outlets Actualite.cd, Radio Maendeleo, Kivu-Avenir and UNE.CD. A spokesperson for the Democratic Republic of Congo’s armed forces (FARDC), operating under the Sukola 2 South-South Kivu command, said the aircraft used were Bayraktar TB2 medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) drones piloted from inside Rwanda.

Local reporting, cross-referenced by the US-based Critical Threats Project in its Congo War Security Review, said the hotel had reportedly hosted a planning meeting involving Burundi National Defense Force (FDNB) and FARDC officers ahead of a proposed operation toward Minembwe, a strategic Fizi highlands town. Officials said the targets appear to have left before the strike landed. Two FDNB officers, Captain Félicien Kanjori and Major Jérémie Nitunga, were subsequently arrested on suspicion of leaking the meeting’s location to the AFC/M23 coalition.

The following morning, August 20, FARDC said it shot down a separate loitering munition — described by its Sukola 2 spokesperson, Lieutenant Reagan Mbuyi, as a “kamikaze drone” — at Ruyengo, also in Fizi territory, attributing it to Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) and M23-aligned militias Twirwaneho and Red-Tabara. Radio Okapi, AllAfrica and Congolese outlet ACP carried the FARDC account; none of the reports include independent forensic confirmation of the drone’s origin or type.

A week later, on August 27, an Antonov An-28 flying from Bukavu toward Minembwe was shot down near Gahwela, killing at least four people, according to aviation-incident tracker Aviation Safety Network and regional media. Responsibility is disputed: the AFC/M23 coalition said the aircraft was carrying humanitarian cargo and blamed Congolese government forces, while Kinshasa-aligned sources maintain the opposite. Both the drone strikes and the aircraft downing remain contested along the same lines that have defined the eastern DRC war since M23’s 2025 resurgence: each side accuses the other, and neither claim has been independently verified.

The Product/System

The Bayraktar TB2 is a propeller-driven, satellite- and line-of-sight-controlled MALE unmanned combat aerial vehicle built by Turkey’s Baykar. It carries a maximum payload of roughly 150 kg, including MAM-L and MAM-C laser-guided munitions, and can loiter for over 24 hours. Baykar has marketed the TB2 as combat-proven in Libya, Nagorno-Karabakh, Ukraine, Ethiopia and the Sahel, and the company states it has exported the type to some 30 countries, including several African operators such as Nigeria, Niger, Togo, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Somalia, Libya and Djibouti. The type’s rapid, low-cost spread across African militaries has already reshaped conflicts far from the DRC, from Sudan’s drone war to Chinese CH-4 deployments in Chad — part of a broader pattern of TB2-driven “middle power” drone diplomacy.

Rwanda’s status as a TB2 operator is not confirmed. Reports of a prospective Rwandan purchase surfaced as early as 2021, but no contract, delivery or in-service unit has ever been documented by Baykar, the Turkish government or independent trackers, and by most assessments the reported deal was shelved. That makes the FARDC’s specific identification of the Fizi munitions as TB2s notable but unverified — Kigali could be operating an undisclosed TB2 fleet, using a visually similar Turkish or third-country MALE platform, or the identification could simply be inaccurate. This article treats the TB2 designation as a Congolese military claim, not an established fact.

Who Uses It

Confirmed TB2 operators in Africa include Nigeria, Niger, Togo, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Somalia, Libya, Djibouti and, more recently, Kenya. Rwanda is not on that confirmed list. What is independently documented, via the United Nations Group of Experts report on the DRC (S/2026/466), is that RDF forces have deployed kamikaze drones, jamming systems, GPS-guided mortars and an estimated 14,000–18,000 troops across North and South Kivu in support of the AFC/M23 coalition. The same UN reporting says M23 has separately fielded modified commercial drones and Estonian-made reconnaissance and target-acquisition UAVs since early 2026. On the Congolese government side, drone operations in South Kivu have been reinforced since February 2026 by a private security team linked to Blackwater founder Erik Prince, which Reuters and other outlets reported was flying its own drones and providing air-defense support to FARDC special forces around Uvira, alongside Israeli military advisers, under a Kinshasa contract originally focused on mining-revenue security.

Export/Procurement History

Baykar’s African export push has been built on government-to-government deals typically bundling the TB2 with ground control stations, munitions and training, at a fraction of the cost of comparable American or Chinese systems — a pricing and export-licensing model widely credited with driving TB2 adoption across the Sahel and Horn of Africa over the past five years. No Turkish government or Baykar statement has acknowledged a Rwandan TB2 sale, and Ankara has not commented publicly on the Fizi allegations. Rwanda has repeatedly denied backing M23 despite the UN Group of Experts documenting Kigali’s military role in the conflict in successive reports since 2022.

Global Competitors

If a Turkish MALE drone is indeed operating over South Kivu, it joins a crowded field of unmanned systems already active in the DRC war: Chinese-origin platforms circulating in the wider Great Lakes and Sahel drone markets, Estonian reconnaissance drones reportedly supplied to M23, commercial quadcopters converted into loitering munitions by both sides, and the US-linked, Israeli-supported drone operations flown for the Congolese army. The mix illustrates how a conflict once fought largely with rifles and artillery has become a proving ground for mid-tier drone exporters — Turkey, China, Estonia and private American contractors — competing for influence and battlefield share far from the Middle Eastern and Eastern European theaters that built their reputations.

Why It Matters

The eastern DRC war, driven by the AFC/M23 coalition’s 2025 offensives and Rwanda’s documented military backing, has largely been fought outside the lens of major Western defense media, despite involving one of the largest documented foreign troop deployments in Africa today. The apparent arrival of Turkish-origin strike drones, even if the TB2 identification proves imprecise, would mark a significant escalation: a MALE UCAV capable of precision strikes against a named hotel, deliberately targeting an inter-military coordination meeting rather than a battlefield position. It also raises fresh questions about Baykar’s and Ankara’s end-use controls, given Turkey’s stated efforts to position itself as a responsible drone exporter, and about how private contractors, UN peacekeepers and now competing drone fleets are reshaping a war zone where accountability for airstrikes is already difficult to establish.

What Happens Next

Congolese and Burundian authorities have not announced an independent technical investigation into the Fizi strike or the Antonov downing, and no international body has confirmed the drone type involved. The UN Group of Experts is expected to address recent drone activity in its next scheduled DRC report. Continued FARDC claims of intercepted RDF/M23 drones suggest South Kivu’s Fizi highlands, and the contested town of Minembwe in particular, will remain a focal point for further air incidents as both sides push to control the corridor.

FAQ

Did Turkey sell Bayraktar TB2 drones to Rwanda?

There is no confirmed Turkish government or Baykar sale of TB2s to Rwanda. A reported 2021 purchase interest was never confirmed as a completed contract. The TB2 identification in the Fizi strike comes solely from a Congolese military spokesperson and has not been independently verified.

What happened at the Mwalu Hotel in Fizi?

Congolese officials say two drone-dropped munitions struck the hotel around 1:00 a.m. on August 19, 2026, wounding two people and damaging the building. FARDC said the target was a planning meeting involving Congolese and Burundian officers.

Who is fighting in eastern DRC’s South Kivu province?

The Congolese army (FARDC), backed by Burundian troops, allied militias and private contractors, is fighting the AFC/M23 coalition, which UN experts say receives substantial troop and equipment support from Rwanda’s military, alongside allied local armed groups including Twirwaneho and Red-Tabara.

Is Erik Prince’s company operating drones in Congo?

Yes. Reuters and other outlets reported that a private security team linked to Erik Prince has flown drones and provided air-defense support for FARDC special forces in South Kivu since around February 2026, under a Congolese government contract initially focused on mining-revenue security.

Was the shot-down Antonov a military or civilian aircraft?

This is disputed. The AFC/M23 coalition says the An-28 was carrying humanitarian cargo when it was downed near Minembwe on August 27, killing at least four people, while Congolese government-aligned sources dispute that characterization. No independent investigation result has been published.

Sources

• Actualite.cd, “Fizi : deux blessés graves et des dégâts après une attaque de drones attribuée à l’AFC/M23,” August 19, 2026 – actualite.cd – first Congolese report of the Mwalu Hotel strike.
• SOS Médias Burundi, “Fizi: two FDNB officers arrested after an M23 strike on Hotel Mwalu, suspected of leaking intelligence,” September 3, 2026 – sosmediasburundi.org – details on the targeted meeting and subsequent arrests.
• Radio Okapi, “Un drone de l’AFC/M23 abattu par les FARDC à Fizi,” August 20, 2026 – radiookapi.net – FARDC account of the Ruyengo drone shoot-down.
• Critical Threats Project (AEI), “Congo War Security Review,” September 4, 2026 – criticalthreats.org – consolidated OSINT timeline of the Fizi strikes and Minembwe aircraft downing.
• Aviation Safety Network, “Accident Antonov An-28, Thursday 27 August 2026” – aviation-safety.net – technical incident record for the downed aircraft.
• Reuters (via Al-Monitor), “Exclusive-Trump ally Prince sent men, drones to help Congo’s army secure strategic town,” February 10, 2026 – al-monitor.com – sourcing on Erik Prince-linked drone operations for FARDC.
• Baykar Technology, “Turkish drone-maker Baykar exports Bayraktar TB2 to 28 countries” – baykartech.com – manufacturer’s own export tally, used to assess Rwanda’s operator status.