This Sunday, December 22, 2024, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi paid a lightning visit to Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye, one of his main allies in the region. The visit was prepared in complete discretion and contrary to usual practice, no media was invited to cover the event.
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In DRCsince the failure of the Luanda negotiations, the president Felix Tshisekedi walks around his neighbors. On Saturday, he went to Congo-Brazzaville to meet Denis Sassou-Nguesso.
This Sunday at Burundithe head-to-head between Félix Tshisekedi and Évariste Ndayishimiye took place within the airport itself. It lasted about two hours before Félix Tshisekedi immediately left for the DRC.
No press release was published following this visit. According to a post from the DRC presidency on bilateral cooperation and security issues “.
Gitega is currently Kinshasa’s main ally in the Great Lakes region. Since August 2023, Burundi has deployed nearly ten battalions in North and South Kivu under a secret agreement signed between the two heads of state. These battalions participated in clashes against the M23 supported by Rwanda.
According to Burundian sources, these same contingents have no longer been active in the fighting for several months. So, the discreet visit of Félix Tshisekedi would have had the particular objective of asking his Burundian counterpart to reactivate these troops, in order to lend a hand to the armed forces of the DRC (FARDC). The latter have been trying for several days to reconquer sectors in the hands of the M23 in North Kivu.
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