EngRegional
DRC: Burundian troops protest against order to fight M23
At
least 150 Burundian troops were sent back to Burundi on December 8, following
their protest against orders from Gitega to support the Congolese army
coalition in fighting the M23 rebels.
Their
protests came after they were heavily defeated by M23 rebels in Mushaki, Masisi
Territory, in early December, forcing hundreds of them to flee to Goma airport
and request for repatriation to their home country.
About
200 of their colleagues agreed to go back and fight M23, after hours of
negotiation with senior military officials from the Burundian contingent under
the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF).
Commanders
of the 150 repatriated Burundian soldiers refused to return to Burundi, and are
hiding in eastern DRC, fearing to be executed once they go back to Burundi.
The deployment
of Burundian troops in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo to fight
M23 rebels has divided Burundian politicians as well as military officials. They
do not understand why Burundian soldiers are dying in a war that they don’t
benefit from.
The
Congolese government pays $5,000, monthly, for each Burundian soldier who is
fighting alongside the Congolese national army against M23 rebels. But, they
receive only $70 per each junior soldier, and $100 per each officer, an issue
that is causing wrangles among Burundian soldiers and politicians. Only senior
political and military officials are filling their pockets with pennies from
DRC.
Kinshasa
and Gitega signed a secret bilateral defence pact signed in August, which led
to more than 6,000 Burundian troops deployed to DRC. While they will allegedly
securing the upcoming December 20 elections, those deployed were initially
involved in the battle against the M23.
Dozens
of Burundian soldiers were killed and others injured in the battle against M23
rebels in North Kivu Province. Since November 29, the Burundian army has been
repatriating its casualties.
Burundian
families and some commanders opposed the deployment of Force de Défense Nationale du Burundi (FDNB) to eastern DRC to
fight M23. Consequently, some commanders were detained.
Burundi’s
stance in the escalating crisis in eastern DRC has been a big concern from the
beginning.
While
November 2022 saw EAC deploying a regional force for peacekeeping in eastern
DRC, the Burundian troops had looted cows from the local population, and burned
down houses in Bijombo, South Kivu Province, in December 2022.
The
Burundian army joined the Congolese army’s coalition made up of Wazalendo and
numerous other armed militias, Eastern European mercenaries, and the Rwandan
genocidal group, FDLR, which was founded by the remnants of the perpetrators of
the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. They are all involved in
atrocities targeting Congolese population, especially Congolese Tutsi
communities.
Regional
security analysts see the involvement of Burundi in eastern DRC, as a recipe
for disaster.
