President Ndayishimiye regarding the Burundian army’s mandate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, has denied Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye’s assertion that the Burundi National Defense Forces (FDNB) were sent to eastern DR Congo to “fight foreign armed groups,” questioning why the genocidal militia FDLR was not attacked.

Nduhungirehe was alluding to Ndayishimiye’s address to the diplomatic corps assigned to Bujumbura on Friday, January 31.

Referring to Burundi’s misrepresented address, the minister stated, “The issue is that this statement does not stand up to the truth, and to facts that can be easily verified on the ground.”

He questioned why the FDNB, who were stationed in the DRC to “fight foreign armed groups,” had never attacked the FDLR despite the fact that it is a foreign murderous organization.

“Even worse: why do the Burundian forces work together with these same FDLR, as they are both driven by the same genocidal ideology?” he continued.

Nduhungirehe recalled that the FDNB contingent, which was assigned to the EAC Regional Force (EACRF), had “inherited” in 2023 many localities in the Masisi territory that had previously been held by the M23, which had also given the EACRF about 80% of the territories it held, under the terms of the ceasefire negotiated by the East African Community (EAC).

He mentioned the village of Nturo, which is primarily populated by Congolese Tutsis, as one of the localities in the Masisi region that the M23 gave to the Burundian army in 2023.

However, he noted that between October 7 and October 10, 2023, the FDLR genocidal forces and the extremist Nyatura and Wazalendo militias chose to launch a scorched earth attack on this village, resulting in the burning and reduction to ashes of 300 Congolese Tutsi homes in an intricately planned ethnic cleansing.

The village head claims that the Burundian forces were positioned on a hilltop above the village of Nturo as accomplices, quietly watching the spectacle for several hours without getting involved.

The remaining residents of Nturo sought safety in the nearby village of Bwiza, where they joined over 17,000 displaced people who had been subjected to constant attacks by the FARDC and its many militias, according to Nduhungirehe, who added that the villagers had only been spared by M23 fighters traveling from Rutshuru.

He said, “The M23 now controls this village of Nturo, which was wounded and martyred by the forces of evil. This has allowed the villagers to rebuild their homes and live in complete safety.”

He said, “I would like to point out here that neither the MONUSCO, the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, nor any Western power have condemned this crime against humanity, which was committed by genocidal militias with the help of the Burundian army.”

“Today, these same powers, who claim the privilege of moral values but keep quiet about evil, have the audacity to demand that the M23, “supported by Rwanda,” as they claim, once more subject these impoverished villagers to the yoke of their executioners,” he said.

According to Nduhungirehe, the Burundian forces began fighting more openly against the M23 and the Congolese Tutsi on October 20, 2023, using President Tshisekedi’s decision to expel the EACRF in favor of a more aggressive SAMIDRC, or Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo.