Burundi : 21 soldiers transferred to an unknown destination after refusing to join the front in the DRC

SOS Médias Burundi

Rumonge, October 22, 2026—Twenty-one Burundian soldiers detained at Murembwe Central Prison in the port town of Rumonge, Burunga Province, southwestern Burundi, were transferred on Thursday to an unknown destination. According to military sources, these men had refused to join the front in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where they were scheduled to be deployed.

The 21 soldiers are prosecuted for desertion and abandoning their posts. Detained in Murembwe for approximately two months, they had appeared before the military court and were awaiting a judicial decision regarding their possible provisional release or continued detention.

According to a source among the detainees, 21 of the 22 soldiers were transferred on Thursday. Their destination and the reasons for the transfer were reportedly not disclosed to them.

Only one soldier from this group remained in Murembwe prison. He is reportedly prosecuted for the armed theft of a mattress.

According to military sources, the 21 men disappeared whereas they were scheduled to be sent to South Kivu, in eastern DRC. They reportedly refused to join the front lines, which led to charges of desertion and abandoning their posts.

Their transfer comes amid ongoing tensions on the eastern DRC front, where elements of the Burundi National Defense Force (FDNB) are fighting alongside Congolese government forces and their allies, including the Kinshasa-backed Wazalendo militias, against rebels of the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN).

According to local sources, the Burundian army has suffered heavy losses in recent weeks, following several months of advances in the highlands of South Kivu. Soldiers are also reportedly complaining about difficult conditions on the ground and a lack of equipment in the face of rebels described as well-organized and better equipped. The Burundian armed group Red-Tabara is also present in the region.

Two Burundian soldiers repatriated from the DRC arrived in Rumonge, visibly exhausted and wearing worn uniforms after several days without supplies, according to witnesses (SOS Médias Burundi)

Furthermore, Burundian soldiers suspected of collaborating with Rwanda or the rebels are being arrested in humiliating circumstances by militias allied with Congolese government forces. Two Burundian officers remain in detention, suspected of having passed on intelligence. On September 29, the spokesperson for the Burundian National Defense Forces (FDNB), Brigadier General Gaspard Baratuza, acknowledged their detention during a public broadcast with journalists.

Read also : [Fizi : two FDNB officers arrested after the M23 strike on the Mwalu Hotel, suspected of leaking intelligence](https:

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Murembwe Central Prison hosts more than 1,000 inmates. Among them, 272 soldiers have been sentenced since the end of December 2024 to prison terms ranging from four years to life for refusing to go to eastern DRC to fight alongside the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) and the Wazalendo militias against the AFC/M23, a politico-military coalition that announced its transformation into the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN) on October 12, 2026.

Read also : [Rumonge : the second level of the military court handed down heavy sentences to soldiers who refused to fight alongside the FARDC against the M23] (https :

).

Between August 2022 and December 2025, Burundi deployed more than 29,000 troops in eastern DRC, alongside the FARDC, the Kinshasa-backed Wazalendo forces, and other groups. Kinshasa and Gitega accuse Kigali of supporting rebel groups in the region, an accusation Rwanda denies. For its part, Rwanda accuses the DRC and Burundi of supporting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Rwandan Hutu armed group, some of whose members are accused of participating in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis.

The destination of the 21 soldiers transferred on Thursday and the precise reasons for their deployment remain unknown. It is not established whether this transfer is directly related to their alleged refusal to join the front lines in eastern DRC.

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Burundian soldiers during a security operation for high-ranking Congolese officials in Uvira, South Kivu. New deployments of Burundian soldiers have been reported in recent weeks in the eastern highlands of the DRC, while 21 soldiers detained at Murembwe prison in Rumonge were transferred to an unknown location after refusing, according to military sources, to join the front lines (SOS Médias Burundi)