Rumonge : the fighting in South Kivu is strangling exchanges between Burundi and the DRC

SOS Médias Burundi

Rumonge, July 14, 2026 – Commercial traffic between Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is experiencing a significant slowdown at the commercial port of Rumonge, in the province of Burunga, in the southwest of Burundi. For several days, the decrease in the number of boats coming from Congolese ports has disturbed the economic activities and worried the traders who depend on the exchanges on Lake Tanganyika.

Fewer and fewer commercial boats

At the commercial port of Rumonge, boats transporting goods from the DRC are increasingly rare.

According to police sources present on the spot, Congolese commercial boats dock much less frequently since last week. Traders met at the port affirmed that they are suffering significant financial losses due to the decrease in traffic on Lake Tanganyika.

“We have fewer merchandise and fewer clients. Many traders are reluctant to return to the DRC because of insecurity”, testifies an economic operator.

This situation affects a commercial axis considered essential for exchanges between the two countries bordering Lake Tanganyika.

The war in Eastern Congo disrupted commerce

This decrease in traffic occurs in a context of rise of fighting in the east of the DRC, particularly in the province of Sud-Kivu.

Several local sources estimate that the deterioration of the security situation contributes to the slowdown of commercial exchanges. The confrontations involve the M23, the Twirwaneho armed group, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), the Wazalendo militia, which Kinshasa claims to support as part of the defense of the Congolese territory, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), as well as the Burundian army.

The accusations regarding the external support to the different armed groups remain disputed by the parties concerned.

No Burundian authority has, at this stage, officially communicated the consequences of this situation on commercial exchanges at the port of Rumonge.

Military reinforcements signaled towards the DRC

However, military sources contacted under the cover of anonymity affirm that reinforcements of Burundian soldiers continue to be sent to the DRC from the fishing port of Karonda, located in Kigwena zone, Rumonge district.

According to these sources, these soldiers would be destined for operations in South Kivu, where Burundian and Congolese forces would seek to retake lost positions against armed groups.

The AFC and its allies claim a new influence in South-Kivu

In recent days, military, community and civil society sources in South Kivu have told SOS Médias Burundi that M23 rebels and Twirwaneho fighters, affiliated to the Congo River Alliance (AFC) led by Corneille Nangaa, former president of the Congolese Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), have retaken several areas previously controlled by the government coalition.

The AFC and its allied groups have installed a parallel administration in several areas of North Kivu and South Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a vast country in Central Africa.

A reinforced military presence on Lake Tanganyika

Faced with the evolution of the security situation, the Burundian military presence on Lake Tanganyika would have been strengthened.

According to sources close to the Burundian navy, four military boats would be currently deployed off Rumonge in order to ensure the surveillance of territorial waters.

Traders fear a prolonged crisis

Despite the rise of tensions in the east of the DRC, no significant movement of Congolese refugees has been observed recently in the province of Burunga.

On the other hand, the economic consequences are already visible. Several Burundian traders claim to have temporarily suspended their trips to the DRC, fearing for their safety and the safety of their goods.

The economic operators of Rumonge fear that the continuation of fighting in South Kivu will further compromise commercial exchanges on Lake Tanganyika, a strategic communication route for the populations and economies of the two countries.

They call on the Burundian and Congolese authorities to strengthen security on commercial routes in order to prevent insecurity from permanently paralyzing cross-border trade.