Photo of the week-DRC : reported progress of Burundian troops towards Minembwe via Bibokoboko, in a context of clashes with M23 and Twirwaneho

A large contingent of Burundian soldiers was reported on Thursday in Bibokoboko, in the area of ​​Mutambala, Fizi territory, in the province of South Kivu, east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an area marked by violent armed clashes.

According to local security sources and several testimonies gathered on the spot, these troops are heading to Minembwe as part of ongoing military operations in the highlands, targeting armed groups active in the region, notably the M23 and Twirwaneho.

According to witnesses and reporters of SOS Médias Burundi in southwestern Burundi, these soldiers left the port city of Rumonge in recent days, before crossing Lake Tanganyika to join the Congolese coast, in the direction of the Baraka area.

According to the same sources, the military landed in the lacustrine town of Baraka before continuing their progress on foot through steep mountainous areas to Bibokoboko, at the end of a trying journey carried out largely at night.

“Several Burundian soldiers have arrived in Bibokoboko in the direction of Minembwe. Some, visibly exhausted, carry heavy weapons. They claim to return to Minembwe to fight the M23 and Twirwaneho,” a local source said.

The troops continued their advance towards Kagugu and other localities in the Mutambala area and are expected to reinforce several strategic positions, notably in Mulima, Kakenge, Point Zero, Mukoko and Mikenge, in an attempt to regain control of Minembwe.

Military offensives and the situation on the ground

Since December 2025, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), supported by Burundian units and Wazalendo militias, have been conducting several offensives in this area without succeeding in lastingly dislodging the armed groups present in the highlands.

In this region, the Kinshasa-backed coalition faces in particular Twirwaneho, a local armed group composed largely of Banyamulenge youth, as well as elements linked to the M23, a former Tutsi rebellion reactivated in 2021 and currently under the control of the Congo Coalition (AFC), led by Corneille Nangaa, former president of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI).

Strategic challenges and mining resources

The M23 controls several strategic areas, including the cities of Goma and Bukavu, as well as the Rubaya mining site, one of the world’s largest deposits of coltan, essential to the electronics industry.

In parallel, several NGO reports state the use of drones by the FARDC in the region. These strikes caused civilian casualties, destruction of infrastructure, including homes, churches and a community radio station, as well as significant losses of livestock.

Regional tensions and cross-accusations

Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of supporting M23, which Kigali denies. A United Nations Group of Experts report published in 2025 nevertheless evokes the presence of 5,000 to 7,000 Rwandan military personnel alongside the rebels. For its part, Rwanda accuses the DRC and Burundi of collaborating with the FDLR, a Rwandan Hutu armed group implicated in the 1994 Tutsi genocide.

Between August 2022 and December 2025, Burundi deployed more than 29,000 troops in eastern DRC to support the FARDC and Wazalendo militias, according to an internal Congolese Interior Ministry report consulted by SOS Medias Burundi.

Assumed implication of Gitega

Gitega’s involvement is assumed at the highest level. In a widely relayed video, President Évariste Ndayishimiye said,
“The Rwandan army would have reclaimed all of Congo had it not been for our intervention.”

Protests and mobilization of the diaspora

This military presence raises objections within the Banyamulenge diaspora. The US-based Mahoro Peace Association has organized several demonstrations in 2025 in North America, denouncing abuses attributed to the Burundian army and calling for the withdrawal of its troops from the Congolese territory.

For his part, the spokesman of the Burundi National Defense Force (FDNB), Brigadier General Gaspard Baratuza, acknowledged on the BBC the presence of Banyamulenge civilians in combat zones, while citing security constraints related to the situation on the ground.

Members of the Banyamulenge community living in the United States announced new demonstrations and vigils in Washington from April 20, in order to question the US authorities on the security and humanitarian situation in eastern DRC.

Our photo : bere, a new Burundian Navy ship, docked on the waters of Lake Tanganyika, brings Burundian National Defense Force soldiers and their equipment, Tuesday, April 14, 2026