South Kivu : drone strikes in Uvira, AFC/M23 accuses Kinshasa of ceasefire violations

SOS Médias Burundi

Uvira, January 15, 2026 – An attack carried out using military drones targeted the Kalundu district in the city of Uvira, South Kivu province, on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in several civilian casualties according to local sources. The incident comes amid ongoing fighting between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and the rebels of the Congo River Alliance/M23 (AFC/M23), against a backdrop of high regional tensions and a contested ceasefire.

According to several eyewitness accounts gathered on site, a drone attributed to the FARDC bombed a bar called Blue Cut, located near the Kalundu public port, around 2:30 p.m. The attack reportedly caused deaths and numerous injuries among civilians, as well as significant material damage.

“There are several civilians injured and some dead. The bar was completely destroyed,” a resident of Kalundu told SOS Médias Burundi after the incident.

According to local reports, the attack was carried out based on intelligence indicating the alleged presence of M23 rebel group members gathered at the establishment. Sources close to the AFC/M23 deny these claims, asserting that no leaders or fighters from the movement were present at the time of the attack.

Accusations of ceasefire
violations

In a message posted on Wednesday, January 14, on the social media X (formerly Twitter), AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka accused Congolese authorities of repeated violations of the ceasefire in effect in eastern DRC.

He claims that drones belonging to the Kinshasa coalition forces bombed the port of Kalundu around 2:20 p.m., causing significant material damage and loss of life.

“Faced with these serious acts, the AFC/M23 calls upon the national and international community to witness the Kinshasa regime’s blatant disregard for its commitments,” he wrote, without providing any figures.

On Thursday, residents also reported that a FARDC drone was shot down at ground zero in the Fizi territory by fighters from the Twirwaneho armed group, following violent clashes.

According to the same sources, these clashes pitted the FARDC, supported by the Wazalendo militia and elements of the Burundi National Defense Force (FDNB), against Twirwaneho fighters, a military ally of the AFC/M23 in South Kivu.

Twirwaneho is an armed group composed primarily of members of the Banyamulenge community, a minority in the region, and considered a strategic ally of the M23 in this area.

At this stage, neither the Congolese nor the Burundian authorities have officially responded to these accusations, and no independent confirmation of the reported events has been obtained.

Uvira, a city still under high tension

These events are occurring within an extremely unstable security context in Uvira. The strategic city was retaken by M23 rebels on the night of December 9-10, 2025, before the movement announced, a week later, a withdrawal presented as conditional.

However, according to several local witnesses, police elements affiliated with the AFC/M23 remain visible in certain neighborhoods of Uvira, fueling uncertainty about the effective control of the city and the stability of the announced ceasefire.

On Wednesday, between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., loud explosions from heavy and light weapons were reported in the Kigongo and Makobola mountains, causing widespread panic among the population. According to residents, the gunfire continued into Thursday morning.

Some community sources also claim that the Wazalendo militias, allied with the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo), are trying to prevent schools from reopening in the area.

“They want to scare parents into keeping their children home. If the pupils return to school, the international community will see that there is peace in Uvira,” a local source confided.

Sources within the AFC/M23 also suggest that the drones used in the Uvira bombings originated in Burundi, information that could not be independently verified.

A regional conflict with multiple ramifications

These attacks are taking place within a particularly complex and violent regional context. The FARDC, supported by Burundian troops and the Wazalendo militias, are fighting the M23 rebels, who were reactivated in 2021 and are now part of the Congo River Alliance (AFC).

The AFC/M23 controls several strategic areas in North and South Kivu, including Goma and Bukavu, the capitals of the two Kivus, as well as the Rubaya mining site, one of the world’s largest coltan deposits, a mineral essential for the electronics industry and new technologies. The movement also advocates for the establishment of a federal state in the DRC.

Kinshasa accuses Kigali of supporting the M23, while Rwanda denounces the alleged support of the DRC and Burundi for the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Rwandan Hutu armed group whose members are accused of participating in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis. Despite Rwandan denials, a report by the UN Group of Experts mentions the presence of 5,000 to 7,000 Rwandan soldiers alongside AFC/M23 fighters.

On the ground, clashes continue despite the Washington Agreement, signed on December 4, 2025, between the DRC and Rwanda under the US mediation, confirming the failure of diplomatic efforts. Burundi participated in this agreement as an observer, represented by President Évariste Ndayishimiye.

In this conflict with its multiple regional ramifications, Burundian soldiers continue to pay a heavy price, often in the shadows and in silence. Between August 2022 and December 2025, more than 29,000 Burundian soldiers were deployed in eastern DRC, according to an internal report from the Congolese Ministry of the Interior and Security consulted by SOS Médias Burundi.

With the advances of the AFC/M23 in South Kivu, the Burundian army repatriated a large part of its troops in December, before carrying out a limited redeployment in recent days. The hostilities have forced thousands of civilians to flee to neighboring countries. The small east African nation alone took in more than 100,000 Congolese in December alone, adding to more than 70,000 refugees already present earlier in the year, exacerbating an already critical humanitarian crisis.