In the Democratic Republic of Congo, civil society in Uvira, in the province of South Kivu, denounces the incursions of the Burundian army into the middle and high plateaus overlooking the city of Uvira. Since mid-December, the Burundi National Defense Forces (FDNB) and the Burundian rebels of Red Tabara have been fighting each other in this region.
The Burundian and Congolese authorities deny any presence of Burundian soldiers on Congolese soil and yet, civil society assures us that these are unmatched clashes, by their scale, which have caused more than 80,000 people to flee.
“ The clashes are still continuing as I speak to you. The NBDF still continue to hunt down the Red-Tabara and already 80 villages have been emptied of their population. There are 80,000 people who have been impacted by these clashes. The civilian populations today find themselves fleeing into the forest without any assistance and the Congolese State says nothing. The Congolese State is silent and does not speak out. Since there have been clashes, including between the FARDC [Forces armées de la république démocratique du Congo] and armed groups, we have never experienced this kind of confrontation and damage which is enormous. Today, 80% of the villages in the highlands of Uvira and Fizi are deserted and the population spends the night under the stars when we see that there is a lot of rain. So it’s a very bitter observation because we can’t understand that the forces of another country come to clash in another country »specifies André Byadunia, coordinator of New Civil Society in South Kivu, joined by RFI.