A visit to the military hospital in Burundi reveals that all is not well within the army. Although officially not at war, the Burundian military is illegally deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo under what amounts to a mercenary-style arrangement between Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye and DRC President Félix Tshisekedi.
The military hospital in Burundi is buzzing with activity. Emergency wards are overflowing, and tragically, so are the mortuary services. The cause of the chaotic scenes is unmistakable. Burundian soldiers are dying at an alarming rate in Congo. Unconfirmed figures place the death toll at approximately 310 soldiers in one week. Given that military experts typically estimate the number of wounded at three times the death toll, the scale of the catastrophe confronting the army becomes clear.
Eyewitnesses report that hospital halls are filled with agonizing young men, some crying in Kirundi, others in Kiswahili, and even Kinyarwanda. They recall that this has happened before. These are casualties from Eastern DR Congo.
The Ndayishimiye-Tshisekedi coalition includes the genocidaire group FDLR, alongside the Burundian and Congolese armies. Their alliance is forged on a single premise: that exterminating Tutsis in Congo serves their interests. Tshisekedi seeks to steal land and natural resources from Congolese-Tutsi areas by labelling their inhabitants “foreigners.” Ndayishimiye, meanwhile, aims to expand Bujumbura into an export hub for looted resources. Most critically, all three, Tshisekedi, Ndayishimiye, and the FDLR, share the dream of using Eastern Congo as a launchpad for attacks against Rwanda.
Recent reports from Minembwe, in South Kivu province, confirm that the Ndayishimiye-Tshisekedi coalition has once again launched an offensive, only to find its forces decimated on the battlefield. “It has become an established pattern: they attack, they lose, and soon they will be crying foul play to the UN and others,” observed a regional analyst. A frustrated diplomat involved in mediation efforts added, “It is cyclical. Tshisekedi signs an agreement, and whenever it is his turn to implement his commitments, he provokes an escalation.”
The reality is that the death toll among Burundians is rising exponentially. While Congolese and FDLR casualties may be buried in secret, just this week alone, hundreds of families in Burundi are grieving. They cannot come to terms with the fact that their loved ones died in an effort to exterminate Tutsis. Sooner or later, the Ndayishimiye-Tshisekedi-FDLR mission will meet stiff resistance, not just on the battlefield, but within Burundi itself.
Watch this space!
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