Sange : over 30 dead after a deadly explosion in the heart of the city

SOS Médias Burundi

Bukavu, December 7, 2025 – More than thirty people were killed Sunday evening in the city of Sange, South Kivu, after a bomb exploded in a populated area, as Congolese forces – supported by the Burundian army and Wazalendo militias – face increasing pressure in the Rusizi Plain.

According to several accounts, the explosion occurred after internal clashes between FARDC soldiers. A group of Congolese soldiers returning from the front and attempting, according to witnesses, to flee towards Uvira, were reportedly stopped at the Sange bridge by another FARDC detachment. The exchange of fire reportedly escalated to the point where an explosive device was thrown, detonating in the center of the town.

The provisional death toll stands at at least seven Burundian soldiers, seven civilians, and an as-yet-undetermined number of Congolese soldiers and Wazalendo militiamen.

A resident described a scene of chaos : “The bomb exploded right in the center. Among the dead were Burundians, FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo) soldiers, Wazalendo militiamen, and civilians.”

The explosion plunged the population into panic, as the region is already shaken by the advance of the M23, which recently seized several strategic locations : Katogota, Luvungi, Bwegera, Luberizi, and Mutarule.

A high-ranking Burundian officer killed in fighting

During these clashes, which have intensified since Monday, December 1st, the Burundian army has lost its first high-ranking officer since its official intervention in eastern Congo in March 2023. It was Lieutenant Colonel Athanase Minani. Several other junior officers were also killed.

A new mass exodus

Faced with the rapidly deteriorating situation, thousands of families are fleeing to Kiliba, Runingu, Uvira, or crossing the border to seek refuge in Burundi.

According to the United Nations, the war that has dragged on for three decades in eastern Congo has forced more than 7 million people to flee their homes and caused the deaths of several thousand civilians.

A regional conflict with deep ramifications

These incidents come as the DRC and Rwanda signed an agreement in Washington on Thursday, under the US mediation, 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 politico-military movement hostile to the Congolese authorities and led by the former president 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 Tutsis. The Washington agreement notably provides for the disarmament of these fighters, whom President Félix Tshisekedi describes as a “residual force.”

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