The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and Burundi National Defense Forces have killed 40 Burundian rebels in South Kivu.
The joint offensive against the National Liberation Forces (FNL) armed group was launched on Saturday, November 26, 2022.
Radio Okapi reports that fighting took place in the high and middle plateaux of Uvira in South Kivu with several losses being inflicted on the Burundian armed group of self-proclaimed General Aloyz Nzabampema.
“The Taskforce composed of two forces (Burundian and DRC) whose mission is to track down all local and foreign armed groups operating in our southern part of South Kivu, attacked the enemy fiercely and dislodged the latter from all the four hills overlooking the locality of Nabombi which was once the command post and logistics base of Mr ALoyz Nzabampema,” the spokesman of the Operational Sector Sukola 2 South South Kivu, Lieutenant Marc Elongo Kyondwa, said in a statement quoted by Radio Okapi.
He added: “The enemy being dislodged and on the run, lodged in the Itombwe forest in Mwenga territory, without any exit, after having suffered a heavy loss in men and equipment.”
The FNL is a branch of Agathon Rwasa’s former rebel group, now the main political opposition in Burundi.
Lt Kyondwa said at least 40 attackers [were] neutralized (killed) during this attack.
The commander of the Sukola 2 Sector in the South of South Kivu, Major General Ramazani Fundi, called on the population to collaborate with the loyalist forces to put an end to the existence of armed groups.
The Burundian army has been operating for several months in the province of South Kivu, within the framework of the deployment of the East African Community (EAC) Regional Force.
