Rugombo under threat : clashes in the DRC cross the Rusizi River

SOS Médias Burundi

Cibitoke, December 5, 2025 – For the past five days, residents of the Cibitoke district in Bujumbura province, western Burundi, have been living to the rhythm of explosions from the clashes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The detonations coming from across the Rusizi River, which separates the two countries, are reigniting fears of the conflict spilling over.

On Friday morning, around 10:00 a.m., a 12-year-old boy was injured in Rugombo after being struck by shrapnel. According to witnesses, the projectile landed in a field near the Nyakagunda River, close to the Free Methodist Church and the German cemetery. Fragments reached nearby houses, injuring the boy.

Residents of the Congolese towns of Katogota, Lubarika, Luvungi, and Kamanyola, located across the border from Burundi, are also living under fire, with several shells having killed civilians in their homes in recent days. On the Burundian side, fear is spreading among the population, already shaken by the constant sounds of explosions.

As a security measure, shops, banks, the market, and the Rugombo Modern Primary School have closed. Pupils have been sent home. Another shell reportedly landed near a military post monitoring the border, without causing any damage.

To secure the area, the army, police, and Imbonerakure—members of the youth wing of the CNDD-FDD, the ruling party—have been deployed to keep onlookers away and control movement near the border. Local authorities maintain that the situation is “under control,” while urging the population to report any suspicious individuals.

These incidents come as the DRC and Rwanda signed an agreement in Washington on Thursday, mediated by the United States, aimed at reducing regional tensions. The conflict remains complex, however. The M23, a former Tutsi rebellion revived in 2021, is fighting the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC), supported by more than 10,000 Burundian soldiers and the local Wazalendo militias.

Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23, now affiliated with the Congo River Alliance (AFC), a political and military movement hostile to the Congolese authorities and led by the former head of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), Corneille Nangaa, who advocates for a federal state. Kigali firmly rejects these accusations.

Rwanda, in turn, accuses the DRC and Burundi of supporting the FDLR, a Rwandan Hutu group operating in eastern Congo and accused of participating in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. The Washington agreement notably includes the disarmament of these fighters, whom President Félix Tshisekedi describes as “a residual force.”

UN experts—whom Kigali calls “imposters”—claim that Rwanda has deployed approximately 6,000 troops to support the M23.

In Rugombo, despite diplomatic announcements, the population remains gripped by fear. Residents, who hear gunfire daily, dread an escalation that could spill even further across the border.