The Death of Karine Buisset
Drone Strike · Himbi District, Goma · 11 March 2026
Open-source assessment
Attribution points to FARDC
Acoustic evidence, CH-4B fragmentation pattern, ACLED data attributing 60+ 2026 drone strikes to FARDC, and the post-strike communications pattern all converge on a single actor.
Compound inside the M23 leadership cluster
The Belgian compound sits 50–100 metres from the Kabila family residence, adjacent to documented residences of Bisimwa, Nangaa Yobeluo, and General Makenga.
FARDC's own coalition implicitly admitted responsibility
Wazalendo spokesperson Jules Mulumba celebrated on 11 March. Deputy Willy Mishiki publicly claimed the strike in parliament.
GPS jamming gap may have created the precision window
OFAC sanctions on 2 March 2026 explicitly cited RDF GPS jamming systems. If confirmed, GPS drift cannot explain why this compound was struck.
Private contractors in the chain of command
FARDC drone operations run through Agemira (Bulgarian-registered) and Vectus (Erik Prince links). Question for OCLCH.
The assassination narrative is rejected
Veritasinfo's claim that Buisset was killed by Rwandan intelligence is structurally inconsistent with acoustic evidence and MONUSCO report.
This data represents a specific subset of verified indicators. Correlation does not always imply attribution.
Reconstructed from witness testimony, wire reports, and open-source material
11
Mar
First drone strike — Himbi
Strikes Buisset's building in the Belgian compound. Acoustic witnesses report drone sound, explosion.
Second drone strike — Himbi
Hits adjacent structure. One drone fell in Lake Kivu.
Emergency response arrives
MONUSCO, UNICEF security, and local responders reach the scene.
11
Mar
M23 accuses FARDC
Lawrence Kanyuka and Bertrand Bisimwa issue statements attributing the strike to FARDC.
Mar
Wazalendo statement
Jules Mulumba posts mockery directed at M23. Deputy Mishiki publicly claims the strike.
Mar
EU Commissioner statement
Hadja Lahbib confirms drone struck a building housing ECHO humanitarian staff.
Mar
France PNAT opens war crimes investigation
Assigns case to OCLCH. Wazalendo formally expels Deputy Mishiki.
Mar
This report published
M28 Investigates / OSINT Analytica publishes open-source baseline.
Karine Buisset, 54
"fin du mois, fin du monde, même combat"
Buisset was a UNICEF Programme Specialist for Protection Against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA). She had been working in Goma since at least early 2025.
Colleagues confirmed she was finalising a report on M23 commanders who systematically abducted girls as sexual hostages. Her report was close to completion.
Nationality
French — Belz, Morbihan, Brittany
Role
UNICEF Programme Specialist — PSEA
Location
Apartment of Christine Guinot, UNICEF's head of security in the DRC — Himbi district, Goma
Status
Mission extended at the last moment. Posthumous publication unresolved.
Current accountability mechanisms
France PNAT
War crimes investigation opened 13 March 2026.
OCLCH
Office Central de Lutte contre les Crimes contre l'Humanité. Primary mechanism.
EJVM
Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism team in Goma.
MONUSCO
On site collecting physical evidence from early hours.
DRC (Auditor General)
Parallel inquiry announced. Credibility limited.
Physical Evidence
Munitions debris status: not confirmed as analyzed.
Key questions for OCLCH
This report does not make a formal legal finding of criminal liability — that is the function of OCLCH. It maps the factual record against the IHL standard to identify which questions the investigation must answer.
What building or compound did FARDC operators believe they were striking?
What pre-strike imagery or intelligence existed for the Belgian compound? Was it positively identified as a humanitarian residence?
Who authorised the Himbi strikes? At what command level?
Did FARDC's targeting process include any UN security coordination records for the Himbi district?
Was GPS jamming active or inactive during the strike window? Was a jamming gap communicated to drone operators?
Were the Agemira or Vectus contractors flying the drones? What were their rules of engagement?
Who are the two unnamed other victims — the M23 combatant and the private security agent?
The Death of Karine Buisset: Attribution, IHL Accountability, and the PSEA Dimension
The complete open-source investigation report with full references and mapping.
M28 INVESTIGATES / OSINT ANALYTICA - PRELIMINARY BASELINE