Bujumbura : between 80 and 120 wounded Congolese soldiers and Wazalendo militiamen hospitalized; patients denounce two-tier treatment

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, July 29, 2026 – Between 80 and 120 soldiers from the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and Wazalendo militiamen wounded in the ongoing fighting in eastern DRC are currently being treated at Tanganyika Hospital, a private facility located in the Nyabugete neighborhood of Mugere district, south of Bujumbura. Their presence is causing concern among other patients, who are denouncing a delay in their treatment and demanding their transfer to a military hospital.

According to several concordant sources gathered by SOS Médias Burundi, the first wounded began to be admitted toward the end of the week of July 10. Since then, their number has steadily increased, reaching between 80 and 120.

According to patients, their companions, and local residents, soldiers and militiamen cross Lake Tanganyika, primarily at night, before landing at the fishing port known as “Olympic,” located in Nyabugete. They are then transported to Tanganyika Hospital for treatment.

The same sources claim that medical staff are prioritizing these wounded, which is causing delays in the treatment of other patients.

“Doctors and nurses are constantly focused on these soldiers. Other patients sometimes have to wait a long time before being seen,” laments a companion encountered at the scene.

Several witnesses also maintain that the costs associated with the treatment of these wounded are being fully covered by the Burundian government. However, SOS Médias Burundi has not been able to independently verify this information.

Faced with this situation, patients and local residents are calling on the Ministry of Public Health, as well as the Ministry of National Defense and Veterans Affairs, to transfer these soldiers and militiamen to the Kamenge Military Hospital, located north of Bujumbura, or to the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to relieve the pressure on this private facility.

According to several sources, the Kamenge Military Hospital is already treating numerous Burundian soldiers wounded in the fighting in eastern DRC.

Furthermore, information circulating in certain circles suggests that the Chief of Staff of the Burundi National Defense Force (FDNB), General Prime Niyongabo, is the owner or principal shareholder of Tanganyika Hospital. At this stage, SOS Médias Burundi has found no evidence to confirm this information, which therefore remains unverified.

The management of Tanganyika Hospital was unavailable to comment on the information gathered by SOS Médias Burundi at the time of publication.

A military engagement that continues

Burundi remains engaged in military operations in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo alongside the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo) and the Wazalendo militia, in their fight against the Congo River Alliance (AFC/M23).

After the rebels captured Goma in late January 2025, followed by Bukavu in mid-February 2025, the Burundian army redeployed a significant portion of its troops to the Rusizi Plain. There, it suffered heavy losses before the capture of Uvira in December 2025, a strategic city located a few kilometers from Bujumbura, Burundi’s commercial capital, where United Nations agencies and a large part of the central administration are concentrated.

Burundi subsequently repatriated a large portion of its troops in December 2025 before undertaking further redeployments following the rebel withdrawal from Uvira and the Rusizi Plain, largely due to US diplomatic pressure.

For several months, fighting has been concentrated in the territories of Mwenga and Fizi, in the South Kivu highlands. The governing coalition has lost several strategic positions there to the Twirwaneho rebels, an armed group composed primarily of fighters from the Banyamulenge community and now allied with the AFC/M23.

The M23, a former Tutsi rebellion that resumed hostilities in late 2021, claims to be fighting because of Kinshasa’s failure to honor its commitments regarding the reintegration of its former combatants. It is now part of the Congo River Alliance (AFC), a political-military coalition led by Corneille Nangaa, former president of the Congolese Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), which advocates for a profound reform of the Congolese state through a federal system.

According to an internal report from the Congolese Ministry of the Interior and Security, consulted by SOS Médias Burundi, Burundi deployed more than 29,000 soldiers in eastern DRC between August 2022 and December 2025.

Burundian and Congolese authorities accuse Rwanda of supporting the AFC/M23, which Kigali continues to deny. However, several UN expert reports published in 2025 indicated the presence of 5,000 to 7,000 Rwandan soldiers alongside this coalition.

This group now controls several areas of North and South Kivu, where it has established a parallel administration and its headquarters in Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.