The Banyamulenge started to flee from the attacks reported by Imbonerakure

The Banyamulenge people in Minembwe, Territory of Fizi started fleeing their homes after the Army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced that in collaboration with the Armed Forces of Burundi and the Imbonerakure, they are going to carry out unprovoked attacks on the armed group of Twirwaneho (consisting of ‘Banyamulenge’).

The Congolese army says that it is going to attack this group that claims to be protecting the security of the Mulenge people, after it came out of the forest and camped at the gates of Minembwe, where the government forces say it is in its territory.

Speaking to Panorama, the leader of Twirwaneho, Kamasa Ndakize says that the reason why they brought the camp to the gates of Minembwe, is because they refused to let the Congolese army bring the Mai Mai to their families and kill them, as confirmed by the letter of grief written to the assistant of President Etienne Tshisekedi.

The head of the Minembwe Civil Society, Santos Mufashi said that the Mulenge people started fleeing from their forces in Madegu, Runundu and Rugemeka. This confrontation between the FARDC and Twirwaneho has reached to another level after the Burundian Army arrived in Minembwe on the agreement of the two countries.

In this fight that can happen at any time, the youth of the party in power in Burundi-CNDD-FDD (Imbonerakure) is mentioned and it is not often mentioned that they do not know about the Tutsi people, as they have seen in the streets of Bujumbura from 2015, when the plot to overthrow the government of the late President Pierre Nkurunziza was completed.

The Banyamulenge are in great trouble that they don’t understand how the Burundian Army came to shoot Twirwaneho only, while there are more than 40 other rebel groups in the territory of Fizi, Uvira and Mwenga that have been fighting for days as reported by VOA.

They say that the Burundian Army on their way to Minembwe have been meeting Mai Mai leaders and that there are those who are working with them until now and will join in the fight against this Banyamulenge group.

On January 6, 2023, the Banyamulenge women wrote a blue letter to President Tshisekedi’s wife called “La Voix de la Femme de Minembwe” in order to condemn what they called the genocide against the Banyamulenge people.

They accuse the DRC army of the 12th Brigade of the FARDC army led by Col. Alexis Rugabisha working in Minembwe for the British.

The authors of the letter say that the members of the [12th brigade] often carry out attacks that kill innocent people, loot and burn Mulenge houses.

Col Rugabisha is accused of being involved in the persecution of the Banyamulenge people of Minembwe by the forces he leads and the rebels.

The women’s letter asks President Tshisekedi’s wife to do what she can and request that the rebels of Mai Mai Yakutumba, Biloze Bishambuke and the Red Tabara movement from Burundi be discouraged because they are the ones who attacked them.

Gaston Rwaka