Burundi–DRC : Gitega forced to beg for the return of its soldiers and a humanitarian crossing

SOS Médias Burundi

Bukavu, December 11, 2025 — “The captured Burundian soldiers will be handed over to their country’s authorities in strict compliance with human rights,” declared Lawrence Kanyuka, spokesperson for the AFC/M23, in a statement he shared with SOS Médias Burundi on Wednesday evening.

He added that the city of Uvira is entirely under M23 control and called on the FARDC elements and Wazalendo militiamen still present in Uvira to “surrender in strict compliance with humanitarian standards.”

“As for the Burundian fighters captured or still active in the area, we assure you that they will be treated safely and handed over to their country’s authorities in strict compliance with human rights,” Mr. Kanyuka stated.

This statement comes as a Burundian delegation, which had traveled through Cibitoke, the region bordering the vast central African country, was forced to go to Luvungi, in South Kivu in eastern Congo, to demand the return of its captured soldiers and negotiate a secure corridor allowing its troops, encircled in the High Plateaus, to return to Burundi. This situation places Gitega in a diplomatic and operational impasse.

A Burundian delegation seeks a safe passage

According to security sources in Cibitoke, the northwestern region of Burundi bordering South Kivu, the special envoys—four high-ranking security officials from the Burundian government—requested the release of several soldiers taken prisoner during recent clashes in the territories of Uvira and Fizi, including a colonel. They also requested the opening of a humanitarian corridor allowing several Burundian troops encircled in the Highlands, particularly in the Lemera area, to return to the Burundian border.

Dispersed retreats and improvised routes

In recent weeks, the AFC/M23 has advanced along several axes, successively capturing Lubarika, Mitimbili, Katogota, Luvungi, Bwegera, and Sange.
This advance has cut off many Burundian units from their usual withdrawal routes.

Military personnel claim that some detachments based in Kifuni and Kitoga have managed to reach the Burundian territory, sometimes transiting through Kiliba.

Other troops are reported to have retreated from Bijombo or from the strategic area of ​​Point Zero, in the Uvira territory.

Units are now attempting to reach Lake Tanganyika.

With the fall of Uvira, several Burundian soldiers—who had been using the city as a transit point—have had to redeploy to Malimba, Mugeti, Kirungu, Rubuga, and Muramvya, risking complete encirclement.

Military sources indicate that soldiers stationed in Mikalati, Point Zéro, Lulenge, Bibokoboko, and other locations are now considering evacuation via Lake Tanganyika to reach Rumonge in southwestern Burundi, using the lake areas of Baraka and Mboko.

The M23 sets its conditions

According to sources close to the negotiations, the M23 has demanded the following from Burundi :

a complete halt to military operations in the DRC,

the complete withdrawal of all its troops, before any opening of a secure corridor.

This position places Gitega in a diplomatic and operational impasse.

A notable absence in recent fighting

According to several FARDC soldiers and Wazalendo militiamen interviewed, no Burundian soldiers participated in the violent clashes that shook Uvira and Kiliba in recent days.

This absence is explained by the disorganization of Burundian lines and the active search for a way out.

A strategic border crossing under M23 control

Agents at the Gatumba border post confirm that the main Gatumba-Kavimvira crossing, on the Congolese side, is now entirely controlled by the M23.

This situation further complicates the withdrawal of Burundian troops present in the DRC.

Gitega closes its land borders

In response, Burundian authorities closed the main border crossing at Gatumba-Kavimvira and the secondary crossing at Vugizo, both located in Bujumbura province, in western Burundi.

Tense regional context

Reactivated in 2021, the M23 is part of the Congo River Alliance (AFC), led by Corneille Nangaa, which advocates for the establishment of a federal state in the DRC.

The movement now controls several provincial capitals in North and South Kivu, as well as strategic mining areas.

Kinshasa has long accused Rwanda of supporting the M23—accusations that Kigali rejects.

For its part, Rwanda 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, signed on December 4 under the US mediation between Rwanda and the DRC—with Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye participating as an observer—includes the disarmament of these fighters, whom President Félix Tshisekedi describes as “a residual force reduced to banditry.”

Burundi, meanwhile, has deployed more than 10,000 soldiers in the DRC since 2023 to support the FARDC, the Congolese loyalist army, and the local Wazalendo militias maintained by Kinshasa.