Rumonge : a man arrested for filming reprising Burundian soldiers in South Kivu

SOS Médias Burundi
Rumonge, December 19, 2025 –

A man whose identity has not been released was briefly detained on Thursday in the center of the port city of Rumonge, in southwestern Burundi, on suspicion of espionage.

According to witnesses in the city, the individual was allegedly caught photographing Burundian soldiers walking in the streets. These soldiers, visibly exhausted, were in an unusual state : some were wearing incomplete, worn uniforms, some similar to those worn by rebels, which reportedly attracted the attention of passersby.

Police sources indicate that the suspect is believed to be among the leaders of the Catholic Church in the region. He was taken before a judicial police officer for questioning before being released, as no charges could be brought against him.

Local military authorities, however, reiterate that it is strictly forbidden to film or photograph Burundian soldiers currently arriving from South Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they were recently routed after fierce clashes with the M23 rebel movement.

According to military sources contacted in Rumonge, the Burundian soldiers currently returning to the country are arriving primarily via the lakeside areas of Baraka and Mboko, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Their return follows the capture of Uvira by the M23 on the night of December 9-10, 2025, an event that severed the land route usually used by Burundian soldiers to return home.

These soldiers, deployed in South Kivu for several months alongside the Congolese army (FARDC) and the Wazalendo auxiliary groups, were forced to retreat after defeats and losses in the province of South Kivu, which borders Burundi, particularly in the Ruzizi Plain. The soldiers involved in the operation in Rumonge were stationed in the South Kivu highlands before returning to Burundi, following the Burundian authorities’ decision to repatriate all troops previously deployed in the DRC. According to some soldiers, two battalions remain trapped in the hills overlooking Uvira, currently unable to reach Burundian positions.

The presence of these soldiers in the streets of Rumonge and in several neighborhoods of the city center is causing concern among some of the local population. Residents are asking authorities to regroup the soldiers in a military camp, in order to avoid any disruption of public order in this already tense city.

Tense regional context

Since its reactivation in 2021, the M23 rebel movement, composed mainly of Congolese Tutsis, has extended its control over several strategic towns in North and South Kivu, including Uvira. Kinshasa accuses Kigali of supporting the rebel group, while Rwanda denies these accusations and counters by denouncing alleged support from the DRC and Burundi for the FDLR, a Rwandan Hutu militia implicated in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis.

Despite the Washington agreement signed on December 4 under the US mediation, intended to initiate a regional de-escalation, the situation remains explosive. Kigali continues to reject the report by UN experts, whom it calls “imposters,” a document claiming the presence of 5,000 to 7,000 Rwandan soldiers alongside the M23 on the Congolese soil.

The M23 has now merged into the Congo River Alliance (AFC), a political and military movement hostile to the government of Félix Tshisekedi and led by the former president of the Congolese electoral commission, Corneille Nangaa, who advocates for a federal state in the DRC.

Burundi had deployed more than 10,000 soldiers in South Kivu before deciding on their gradual withdrawal after these successive military defeats.

Impact in Burundi

Since the beginning of December, more than 70,000 Congolese refugees, including civilians, soldiers, and militiamen, have crossed the border into Burundi. This influx, combined with the withdrawal of Burundian troops, is putting significant pressure on local infrastructure in Rumonge and Burunga province.

The Burundian authorities now face a dual challenge :
on the one hand, managing the humanitarian emergency, particularly cholera prevention in the reception sites. On the other hand, there are security challenges associated with the return of soldiers deployed in a complex regional war.

The soldiers received in Rumonge are then transferred to Bujumbura, Burundi’s commercial capital, where the central administration and United Nations agencies are located.