Aid operations stretched to the limit in Burundi by ongoing DR Congo crisis
The UN agency has swiftly mobilized additional resources to address but the sharp rise in refugee numbers has put immense pressure on all assistance operations in the region.
Since the beginning of the year nearly 70,000 individuals – primarily women, children, and the elderly – have crossed into Burundi seeking refuge from the intensifying conflict in DRC.
Many have made perilous river crossings and embarked on long journeys to escape violence.
As refugee numbers continue to swell, this marks one of the largest influxes into Burundi in decades, with more arrivals each day. According to reports, many are arriving with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
The movement of refugees has also increased across DRC's border with Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania. According to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, in less than three months, the number of Congolese fleeing has surged to over 100,000.
This trend is exacerbating food insecurity throughout the region, further complicating efforts to provide adequate support. Critical funding gaps are severely hampering humanitarian efforts.
Comment la République Démocratique du Congo peut reconquérir les zones occupées par le RDF et le M23 sans aucune bataille armée.
Stratégies communautaires de rejet et de résistance contre l'occupation par la résistance pacifique.
La situation dans l'est de la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) demeure une source de préoccupation majeure, marquée par la présence et les actions déstabilisatrices du RDF (Forces de Défense Rwandaises) et du groupe armé M23. La perspective d'une reconquête des zones occupées sans recourir à la violence armée représente un défi complexe mais potentiellement transformateur. Cet essai explore en profondeur les stratégies de résistance pacifique que la RDC pourrait mettre en œuvre, en répondant aux questions fondamentales de comment, quoi faire, quand, qui, pourquoi et où. La République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) fait actuellement face à un défi majeur avec l'occupation de certaines régions du Nord-Kivu et du Sud-Kivu par les forces du M23 et le RDF (Rwanda Defence Force). La question fondamentale est de savoir comment reconquérir ces territoires sans recourir à une confrontation armée. Plusieurs stratégies communautaires peuvent être efficacement déployées pour rétablir la souveraineté nationale et territoriale de manière pacifique, en utilisant des mécanismes civils et politiques de résistance et de rejet de l'occupation.
General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, commander of the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) and son of President Yoweri Museveni, has once again shaken the regional diplomatic and military landscape with a series of controversial tweets. These posts, shared via his X account, come just after he completed an official visit to Kigali, where he was warmly received by the Chief of Staff of the Rwanda Defence Force, General Mubarakh Muganga, and personally thanked President Paul Kagame for his hospitality.
In one of his most striking tweets, Muhoozi stated: "Within a week, either the M23 or the UPDF will be in Kisangani. On the orders of Yoweri Museveni, Commander-in-Chief of the UPDF!" He also addressed the people of this strategic northeastern Congolese city: "People of Kisangani, we are coming to save you. The army of God is coming!" These statements, with their messianic and militant tone, immediately raised concerns among observers, especially given that Kisangani lies far from the current frontline between the FARDC and the M23, and well beyond traditionally contested zones.
These messages emerge in an already tense regional climate. The UPDF is officially deployed in Ituri as part of a cooperation agreement with Kinshasa to combat armed groups such as the ADF and CODECO. However, several analysts point out that this cooperation also allows Kampala to expand its territorial influence without facing the international condemnation directed at Kigali. While Rwandan forces and the M23 are accused of serious human rights violations and targeted by sanctions, Uganda seems to be advancing its agenda more discreetly, even presenting itself as a legitimate partner.
Yet recent developments on the ground could signal the beginning of a rupture. According to Ugandan sources, two colonels, three majors, and several FARDC elements disguised within the CODECO militia—allegedly with the complicity of the military governor of Ituri—were captured during ongoing UPDF operations in the province. These individuals have reportedly been transferred to Uganda for interrogation. This incident raises serious questions: Is this the end of the military cooperation between Kinshasa and Kampala? And how long can Uganda continue to avoid international condemnation—will it soon follow Rwanda's path?
In a particularly aggressive series of posts, Muhoozi also declared: "The Ugandan-speaking people of eastern Congo will never be abandoned. The Alur, Bahema, Banande, and Batutsi are our brothers, and we have the RIGHT to protect them!" This type of identity-based rhetoric echoes the justifications used by Rwanda for its intervention in Kivu and supports those who believe Kampala is playing a double game—oscillating between strategic rivalry with Kigali and its own ambitions in the DRC.
But it is primarily the war against CODECO militias in Ituri that allows Muhoozi to project strength. Reposting triumphant military statements, he claimed that the UPDF had killed 242 CODECO fighters in Fataki during clashes on March 18 and 19, 2025. "CODECO prays to the Devil every day! We pray to Jesus Christ every day. Let's see who is stronger? So far, we have killed 300. I want at least 10,000," he tweeted. These statements are shocking—not only for their extreme religious language but also for their glorification of violence. He even added: "My father, General Yoweri Museveni, told me a few months ago that I must turn the UPDF into a 'killing machine.' That is what we are working on."
These declarations, coupled with his recent visit to Kigali, fuel speculation: Is Muhoozi seeking to rekindle a strategic alliance with Rwanda to reshape eastern DRC to their advantage? Or is he playing a personal card, he who has never hidden his political and military ambitions on the regional stage? His tone, veering between provocation and messianism, is cause for concern. And his repeated references to Kisangani—a city historically scarred by Rwanda-Uganda confrontations in 1999–2000—raise fears of a return to direct rivalry, this time cloaked in the guise of a crusade.
In a context where the international community is still trying to stabilize eastern Congo through processes like Luanda or Nairobi, Muhoozi's tweets come as a true torpedo. Whether this is mere political posturing or a signal of new military ambitions, the message is clear: Uganda does not intend to remain passive in the face of developments in eastern DRC. And Kigali, by hosting Muhoozi amid a regional crisis, shows that a certain strategic alignment remains possible.
### "Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence", George Washington. ###
"Ce dont j’ai le plus peur, c’est des gens qui croient que, du jour au lendemain, on peut prendre une société, lui tordre le cou et en faire une autre."
“The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”
“The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.”
“I have loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore I die in exile."
