Burundi – DRC: increasingly heavy sacrifices for the Burundian army

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, December 8, 2025 – Since March 2023, the Burundi National Defense Force’s (FDNB) deployment in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo continues to expose Burundian soldiers to particularly heavy losses. Dozens of wounded and killed are reported almost every week, as fighting against the M23 – a Tutsi rebellion now part of Corneille Nangaa’s Congo River Alliance (AFC) – intensifies.

In the last few days alone, more than one hundred wounded have been reported, including 87 admitted to the Kamenge military hospital, north of Bujumbura. While Burundian authorities remain silent on the actual losses, witnesses report discreet burials, confidential care for the wounded, and an army that continues a war presented as a “duty” by President Évariste Ndayishimiye, despite the strain and the increasing number of casualties.

Around one hundred wounded, 87 transferred to the Kamenge military hospital

According to SOS Médias Burundi reporters present at the Kamenge military hospital, the wounded are being treated in the emergency room and the internal medicine ward.

“They are easily identifiable : most are wearing red sportswear. Many have bandaged arms,” ​​reports a journalist on the scene.

The lack of beds forces some patients to share the same bed :

“Both emergency rooms are full. A single bed can accommodate up to three patients,” reports another journalist.

Some of the wounded were also taken to the “Passive Anti-Aircraft Defense” site near Bujumbura airport—nicknamed Guantanamo—where bodies are also being stored in refrigerated chambers.

Others were sent to private facilities, such as the Tanganyika Care Polyclinic.
The figure of 87 wounded only refers to Kamenge; the actual total is therefore higher.

Heavy losses on the South Kivu front

Since December 1, numerous Burundian soldiers have been killed in the towns of Lubarika, Mitambili, Katogota, Luvungi, and Sange, where the fighting is particularly fierce.

Among the victims is Lieutenant Colonel Athanase Minani, the highest-ranking Burundian officer killed since the start of the official intervention in the DRC.

On Sunday alone, at least seven soldiers were killed in Sange, according to local sources. Other, unconfirmed sources mention up to thirty deaths since the beginning of the month. No official statement has been released.

Secret burials and families kept out of the loop

Witnesses claim that some bodies are buried quickly, sometimes without the families being notified. According to several accounts, military trucks pick up relatives in the middle of the night, without explanation.

For bodies repatriated in a state that is difficult to identify, only the families present at the precise moment of arrival can sometimes recognize the deceased.

“Even the eulogy is prepared at headquarters. It is forbidden to mention Congo,” confide grieving families.

Uncertain compensation for soldiers killed in the DRC

Unlike soldiers killed on peacekeeping missions in Somalia—whose families receive clearly defined compensation (approximately $100,000, divided between the state and the family)—no official procedure exists for soldiers killed in the DRC.

This silence provokes incomprehension and anger among the already bereaved families.

In December 2023, 272 Burundian soldiers who had refused to go and fight the M23 were arrested, tried, and sentenced to terms of up to life jail. They are currently held in Murembwe, in the southwest of the country.

President Ndayishimiye stands by the military commitment

On several occasions, President Évariste Ndayishimiye has defended the Burundian military presence in the DRC, invoking a duty of regional solidarity.

In December 2023, he stated :

“It’s normal that Burundian soldiers are killed in the DRC, because they signed up for it.”

He nevertheless shifts the responsibility for the M23’s advances onto the Congolese authorities :

“It’s up to Congo to explain how the rebels continue to gain ground while we came to help them. Burundi is only providing support.”

The M23 is gradually expanding its control

Reactivated in 2021 and now integrated into the AFC of Corneille Nangaa, the former president of the Congolese CENI (Independent National Electoral Commission), “who advocates for a federal state,” the M23 now controls the provincial capitals of North Kivu and South Kivu, as well as several strategic mineral-rich areas.

Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of supporting the movement—a claim Kigali denies—even though several UN reports mention the presence of thousands of Rwandan soldiers alongside the M23.

Threat to Uvira and border tensions

The city of Uvira, located a few kilometers from Bujumbura, is now reportedly a priority target for the M23.

On Friday, armored vehicles belonging to the Burundian police and army were spotted at the border by reporters from SOS Médias Burundi.

The situation remains tense, and the conflict appears to be drawing dangerously close to the Burundian territory.