Fresh reports of hostage-taking, torture, and aerial bombardments have surfaced from the high plateaus of Fizi, Mwenga, and Uvira in eastern DR Congo, where a Banyamulenge self-defence movement is denouncing Burundian forces for the abuses. In a statement on Sunday, December 7, MRDP-Twirwaneho, a Banyamulenge community-based defence movement operating in Minembwe area, reported that roughly one hundred residents had braved what it described as a “total humanitarian blockade” enforced by Burundian troops, travelling to the Ndondo and Bijombo markets in search of essential supplies. https://x.com/twirwaneho/status/1997467030203564379?t=n2V89VSyZmv9ZkcIVLA10g&s=19 According to the statement, the civilians, mostly women, were ambushed on their return on Sunday morning, resulting in deaths and a yet-undetermined number of civilians being taken hostage. “Several women were tortured, raped and subjected to other serious abuses within the Burundian military camp of Mikalati and other previously unknown locations,” said the armed group that is part of a AFC/M23 rebel alliance. The group further contends that Burundian forces escalated the confrontation by deploying helicopters to bombs villages. “Faced with our intervention to protect civilians, the Burundian army used the reinforcement of three helicopters piloted by white mercenaries, who dropped bombs in the villages of Mikalati, Mikenke, Gahwera, Gisoke and Rugezi,” the statement further reads. It noted that the group fighters “neutralized one of these helicopters,” which crashed into Lake Tanganyika. Twirwaneho also warned of what it described as a dangerous military buildup in South Kivu. It reported the movement of two Burundian battalions departing Mwenga town on Sunday and advancing toward Mikalati through Kipupu, to reinforce units already engaged in operations. Twirwaneho insists that this redeployment represents an existential threat to the Banyamulenge community, invoking historical trauma. They warned that the forces are “committing genocide against the Banyamulenge as was the case of Gatumba in 2004,” referencing the massacre of Congolese Banyamulenge refugees in a Burundian border town more than two decades ago. “The MRDP-Twirwaneho demands the immediate and unconditional release of civilians,” the statement reads. It further urges the withdrawal of Burundian troops from Congolese territory and an end to the humanitarian blockade that, according to the group, has left isolated communities at risk of starvation. The group assured the local population of its commitment to take all measures to ensure their security as well as that of their property.
