Speaking during a press conference in Goma on Sunday, May 25, 2025, M23 President Bertrand Bisimwa criticised Burundi's military involvement in eastern DRC, saying that Burundian troops are operating alongside Congolese forces and enabling FDLR fighters near the border region to kill innocent civilians.
'Burundi is fighting us alongside the Congolese government. Along the border with the DRC, they're hosting and enabling another enemyâ€"the FDLR,' Bisimwa said.
'There are many FDLR fighters in that area, where they're organising to attack us. That's where the threats are coming from.'
According to Bisimwa, the Congolese government is also conducting drone strikes in the region, guided by its intelligence operatives, which have resulted in further civilian casualties.
While expressing no hostility toward the Burundian population, Bisimwa condemned what he described as the Burundian leadership's role in the conflict.
'We have no problem with the Burundian peopleâ€"they're our brothers,' he said. 'But their leaders are using the army to kill Congolese civilians, and we can't support such a government.'
The M23 leader called for the withdrawal of Burundian troops, citing the recent move by SADC forces to exit Congo as an example to follow.
'All we're asking is for them to leave our land… Just like the SADC forces who withdrew, they should do the same and return to Burundi,' he said, warning that the rebels have nothing to lose in their "fight for survival."
Bisimwa also disclosed to members of the press that he had met with Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye before the country joined the conflict. According to him, the Burundian leader acknowledged similarities between M23's struggle and the historic rebellion that brought his own CNDD-FDD party to power.
'I explained our situation, and he told me our struggle reminded him of what CNDD-FDD went through. He said it was the same injustice that led them to take up arms,' Bisimwa recalled. 'So why is he now doing to us what he once fought against?'
Bisimwa, while defending what he described as the rebels' and marginalised communities' struggle, revisited the political histories of Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi, noting that their current governments came to power through armed struggles against marginalisation.
He cited remarks by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who once warned that those excluded today could rise to power tomorrow.
"President Museveni once said in Kinshasa that he and President Kagame came to power by fighting marginalisation. He warned that those who are excluded today could be the ones to topple you tomorrow," he stated.
"That's the message we're sending to Kinshasa. They know it, and I'm simply reminding them. To Burundi, I want to say this: when people are oppressed, they have nothing to lose. They fight with everything they have to survive and stay safe. And that's exactly what we're doing," he added.
M23, which positions itself as fighting against poor governance and the marginalisation of Kinyarwanda-speaking communities in eastern DRC, currently controls large swathes of territory in the region.
Efforts led by Qatar and the African Union to resolve the conflict diplomatically are ongoing, but the rebel group accuses the Kinshasa administration of lacking commitment to that path.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
