Eastern Congo Violence Pushes Refugees into Neighboring States

By Staff, Agencies

More than 330,000 people have fled escalating violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo [DRC], seeking safety in neighboring Burundi and Tanzania, according to figures reported by the Actualite news portal.

DRC Minister for Social Affairs, Humanitarian Action and National Solidarity Eve Bazaiba said approximately 250,000 Congolese refugees have crossed into Burundi, while around 87,000 have entered Tanzania, including an estimated 50,000 children. The figures were released on Monday.

Bazaiba warned that conditions in refugee camps are extremely poor, particularly in terms of public health. Medical teams have identified 198 cases of cholera among Congolese refugees in Burundi, including two fatalities, highlighting what she described as a deteriorating epidemiological situation.

The latest displacement follows renewed fighting involving the M23 armed group, which was formed in 2012 by Congolese Tutsis. In late January 2025, M23 launched a major offensive that significantly intensified the conflict across eastern DRC.

Between January and February, M23 fighters seized control of Goma and Bukavu, the provincial capitals of North and South Kivu. Violence escalated further from March through July, forcing large-scale population movements and worsening an already critical food security crisis.

Although a ceasefire agreement was signed on July 29, clashes persisted in multiple areas. On December 10, M23 forces took control of the strategic city of Uvira without resistance. A week later, the group announced plans to withdraw from the city following a request from the United States. However, Agence France-Presse later reported that M23 police and intelligence units remained in Uvira despite the withdrawal announcement.

In early January, the Congolese government accused Rwanda of direct military involvement in eastern DRC, alleging that more than 1,500 civilians have been killed since early December during a renewed M23 offensive.

In a statement released on Wednesday, authorities said the deaths resulted from coordinated aerial and ground attacks following the collapse of a brief lull in fighting.

“The provisional death toll of civilian victims resulting from Rwandan operations, involving the combined use of bombs and kamikaze drones since the beginning of December, stands at more than 1,500,” the statement said.

The escalation occurred less than a week after Kinshasa and Kigali signed a US-brokered peace agreement on December 4, which was praised in Washington as a major step toward ending cross-border hostilities in the Great Lakes region. Despite the accord, M23 launched a fresh assault on December 2 and captured Uvira on December 10, a key South Kivu city linking eastern Congo to Burundi.

Although M23 later said it would withdraw, residents and security sources reported that fighters remained in Uvira disguised in civilian clothing. Both the Congolese government and US officials questioned the credibility of the withdrawal, with Washington accusing Rwanda of violating the peace deal—an agreement President Donald Trump had previously described as a “miracle.”

The humanitarian toll has continued to mount. The United Nations estimates that more than 80,000 people have fled into Burundi, while at least 500,000 others have been internally displaced within South Kivu province alone. The crisis has been marked by acute food shortages, overcrowded shelters, and limited access to healthcare.

The United States has sharply criticized Rwanda’s role in the conflict. US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz condemned what he described as the “scale and sophistication” of Kigali’s involvement, alleging that up to 7,000 Rwandan troops are operating inside Congolese territory.

Rwanda has denied supporting the M23 group, maintaining that its actions are defensive and aimed at countering armed groups in eastern Congo that Kigali claims are linked to those responsible for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis.