Bijombo: Twirwaneho fighters killed three FARDC soldiers

These three soldiers were killed in fighting between the Congolese army and the Twirwaneho armed group made up of young Banyamulenge on Tuesday morning. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

According to local sources, intense fighting pitted fighters from the Twirwaneho armed group on Tuesday morning against soldiers from the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo). The hostilities took place in the Bijombo groupment in the territory of Uvira in the province of South Kivu in the east of the DRC.

“Severe clashes occurred mainly in Kanyaga and Irango. There, we killed three soldiers. Two other soldiers were killed on Monday”, said sources close to Twirwaneho.

An FARDC spokesperson could not be reached to comment on these allegations.

But residents accused FARDC soldiers of looting as they passed after being dispersed by Banyamulenge fighters.

This fighting escalates after the FARDC and the FDNB (Burundi National Defense Force) arrested five persons including two Burundians who were supplying Twirwaneho last Saturday.

Observers describe ousted Colonel Michel Makanika, commander of the Twirwaneho armed group as a man who masters the region more than anyone else and its fighters as “snakes in their own niche”.