About four Battalions of the Burundi National Defence Force have been ferried into South Kivu to reinforce its troops there allied to the Congolese military.
On Friday, the Congolese military and their Burundi allies were seen fleeing Bukavu city to position in high rise areas including Nyangezi, Ruzizi Plain and Nkomo.
According to an intelligence official the battle for Bukavu is expected to be tough. Burundi which is isolated from the wider East African economy and solely surviving on trade with DRC’s South Kivu is expected to put up a stronger resistance against the battle hardened M23 fighters in the quest for control of South Kivu.
Burundi authorities consider the control for South Kivu a strategic matter. RED-Tabara rebels based in South Kivu since 2015 pose a threat to the regime in Gitega.
On Friday, AFC/M23 fighters took control of Kavumu airport, about 30 kilometres north of Bukavu. Since then, they have not advanced further towards the provincial capital but held a meeting this Saturday evening in Miti, about 27 km from Bukavu.
According to civil society organisations in Bukavu, groups of young people, presenting themselves as Wazelondo, supporters of the FARDC, have been involved in looting. Children as young as 13 or 14 handling weapons in the city.
Burundi exports to DRC are more than U$30million. The main products that Burundi exports to Democratic Republic of the Congo include; Coated Flat-Rolled Iron (U$4.96M), Plastic Lids (U$3.9M), and Glass Bottles (U$3.87M).
Estimates place DRC exports to Burundi at about $15million.
