Banyamulenge self-defence group Twirwaneho has issued a warning over attacks targeting Banyamulenge communities in eastern DR Congo, accusing a coalition of state and non-state actors of seeking to exterminate the population through violence, starvation and isolation. ALSO READ: Twirwaneho accuses DR Congo forces, FDLR of targeting Banyamulenge in Uvira In a statement issued on Tuesday, January 27, Colonel Kamasa Ndakize Welcome, the coordinator of Twirwaneho, said the attacks struck the Banyamulenge villages of Mitamba and Kajoka, located on the plateaus overlooking the city of Uvira, as well as Point Zéro in the Minembwe highlands of Fizi territory. ALSO READ: Human rights violations on rise in Uvira after AFC/M23 pullout – activist The assaults were reportedly carried out by a coalition comprising the Congolese armed forces (FARDC), the Burundian forces, Wazalendo militias, and the DR Congo-backed Rwandan genocidal militia FDLR. “These coordinated attacks, launched last weekend and still ongoing, are being executed by the same coalition of deadly forces that has repeatedly targeted our community,” Ndakize said, warning that the violence has plunged civilians into an escalating humanitarian emergency. ALSO READ: Twirwaneho denounces Burundian forces over hostage-taking, bombings in South Kivu The group denounced the government coalition for enforcing a humanitarian blockade across the highlands of Uvira and Minembwe, cutting off critical supply routes for food, medicine and other essential goods. It said the blockade has been compounded by the shutdown of telephone and internet networks, further isolating civilians trapped in the affected areas. “The objective of these death squads is to exterminate the Banyamulenge population by using famine and isolation as weapons of war,” the statement read. “The shutdown of telecommunications is a deliberate strategy to conceal massacres and prevent victims from communicating their plight to the outside world.” ALSO READ: Kinshasa cuts telecoms in Uvira to hide abuses, says AFC/M23 Twirwaneho, which is part of the AFC/M23 rebel alliance, said the communications blackout has worsened an already dire situation. “These attacks come after the malicious redeployment of Burundian troops in the region, a development we denounced because of its predictable consequences on civilian populations,” it said. ALSO READ: Banyamulenge group urges US Congress to condemn violence in Uvira Twirwaneho further described the ongoing offensives as a direct violation of the ceasefire agreement, accusing the Congolese government and the Burundians of breaching commitments meant to protect civilians and de-escalate hostilities. “These offensives constitute a blatant and deliberate violation of the ceasefire by the Kinshasa regime and the Burundian government,” the movement stated. “We call on the international community to acknowledge the mass crimes of a genocidal nature perpetrated against the Banyamulenge and to draw all necessary consequences,” the statement said, urging stronger diplomatic and humanitarian action. ALSO READ: Looting, displacement reported in Uvira hours after AFC/M23 withdraw The movement also warned that it would not remain passive in the face of continued attacks on civilians, the occupation of Banyamulenge land, and the use of starvation and humanitarian blockades as tools of warfare.
