Burundi troops withdraw from M23 fight in new blow to DRC
Burundi has had soldiers in eastern Congo for years, initially to hunt down Burundian rebels there, but more recently, to aid in the fight against M23.
Burundi is withdrawing its forces from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where they had been fighting against M23 rebels, four sources said on Tuesday, in a further blow to Congo's army as it struggles to halt a rebel advance.
The pull-out came as the U.N. human rights office accused M23 rebels of executing children in eastern Congo during their advance, which has seen the group seize the region's two largest cities.
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"A number of trucks filled with (Burundian) military arrived in the country since yesterday" through a border post, a Burundian army officer said, confirming movements also described by two U.N. sources and an African diplomat.
Burundian soldiers fought alongside the Congolese to try to defend Kavumu, home to the airport that services Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, which fell over the weekend. It was the rebels' most significant prize since they seized Goma, the biggest city in eastern Congo, in late January.
Burundi has had soldiers in eastern Congo for years, initially to hunt down Burundian rebels there, but more recently, to aid in the fight against M23.
The well-equipped M23 is the latest in a long line of ethnic Tutsi-led rebel movements to emerge in Congo's volatile east.
In their march south, the rebels on Tuesday entered the town of Kamanyola, some 50 km south of Bukavu, according to two residents and an M23 source. A Congolese army spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Fighting between rebels and the Congolese army also took place on Tuesday in Lubero territory, north of Goma, local official Kambale Vighuliro and army colonel Alain Kiwewa told Reuters.
Congo President Felix Tshisekedi met his Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco in Luanda, the Angolan capital, to discuss the accelerated deterioration of the security situation in eastern Congo, the Angolan presidency said in a statement posted on Facebook.
Various militias are vying for control of the region's abundant mineral resources such as tantalum and cobalt, key components of electric vehicles, mobile phones and other technological products used across the world.
Congo is also the top supplier of copper to China.
EXECUTIONS
In Geneva, the U.N. Rights Office said conditions were deteriorating sharply for civilians caught up in the fighting in eastern Congo, with reported abuses including summary executions and sexual violence.
"Our office has confirmed cases of summary execution of children by M23 after they entered the city of Bukavu last week," spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told a press briefing.
Three boys likely no older than 15 were killed during an altercation with rebels after they refused to give up weapons they had taken from an abandoned military camp, she said.
Between 10,000 and 15,000 people have crossed into Burundi from around Bukavu in recent days, straining resources and leading to overcrowding, Matthew Saltmarsh, spokesperson for the U.N. refugee agency, said.
Some have drowned in the Ruzizi River while trying to cross, he said.
"(Refugees) are exhausted and traumatised. Many of them have been separated from their families with little information on their whereabouts," Saltmarsh said.
Boat traffic returned to Lake Kivu on Tuesday as ports re-opened in Goma and Bukavu, which the United Nations said could facilitate access to humanitarian aid after weeks of fighting and looting.
However, the airport in Goma, which the U.N. describes as a lifeline for aid, remains closed.
North of Goma, Uganda's army said it had entered the eastern Congolese city of Bunia with approval from local military authorities to stop militia killings there.
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