Bukavu : strategic meeting between Congolese and Burundian military leaders

SOS Médias Burundi

Bukavu, May 15, 2025 — A high-level meeting was held on Wednesday in the city of Uvira, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, between the chiefs of staff of the Congolese and Burundian armies. Lieutenant General Jules Banza Mwilambwe (FARDC) and General Prime Niyongabo (FDNB) chaired this meeting in a particularly tense regional security context.

The two senior officers, escorted by a large Burundian military presence, arrived via the Kavimvira border. Their convoy headed to the Sokola 2 South operational sector in South Kivu, a sensitive area located not far from the recent front lines, to hold a closed-door meeting.

“From 8 a.m. to 4:35 p.m., these leaders were there. We don’t know what they said because they refused to welcome us,” a resident of Uvira told SOS Médias Burundi.

This meeting comes amid reports of growing tensions between the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo), the Wazalendo militias, and Burundian forces, particularly in the Katogota and Kamanyola areas. The Wazalendo accuse certain Burundian soldiers of hindering their offensives against posts of the M23, a rebel group very active in the region.

It is important to remember that the Burundi National Defense Force (FDNB) has deployed nearly 10,000 soldiers to reinforce the FARDC and the Wazalendo militias, the latter of which are supported and maintained by the Congolese authorities. This coalition is fighting the M23, a rebel group that has controlled several strategic areas since the beginning of the year, including the provincial capitals of South Kivu and North Kivu.

According to local security sources, this visit could herald an intensification of joint military operations. “They are preparing for war. New military equipment has been acquired, including drones stationed in Kindu (Maniema) and Bujumbura (Burundi’s commercial capital),” said an analyst contacted by SOS Médias Burundi.

Clashes have recently intensified in several localities in South Kivu, notably in Kaziba (Walungu territory) and Rugezi (Fizi territory), where the FARDC, local militias supported by the Congolese authorities, and the Burundian army are battling the Twirwaneho and M23 rebels.

The two military leaders left Uvira around 4:50 p.m., returning to Bujumbura without making an official statement, leaving the content of the decisions taken during this confidential meeting shrouded in mystery.

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Representatives of the Burundian and Congolese armies in a meeting room with Congolese Defense Minister Guy Kabombo, April 7, 2025