All kinds of rumors circulate about the fighting that took place on 21 December in Uvira. Burundian soldiers were killed. On the Burundi side, military communication completely denies the information. FNL fighters led by Nzabampema settled in the area claim the fight and jubilate. Who fought and why? Two reporters from Iwacu went to the field. There have been fights and deaths. The narrative.
Written by Christian Bigirimana and Jackson Bahati. Translated by Pierre Emmanuel Ngendakumana
Kiliba ONDES, the locality near which clashes took place.
The city of Kiliba is located at about ten kilometers from the chief town of the city of Uvira. Life is gradually resuming. Boutiques and other kiosks along the Uvira-Kamanyola road are open.
Yet, five kilometers to the East where the sugar factory is located, the population returns to the houses in dribs and drabs. And for good reason, Wednesday 21 December 2016 is unforgettable. Fierce fighting took place all morning and evening. The fight opposed Burundian soldiers with those of FARDC (Congolese army) on the one hand, and the Burundian soldiers with the fighters of the FNL led by General Aloys Nzabampema, on the other hand.
It all started at around 7 am, according to Kiliba ONDES sources. Burundian soldiers cross the border at the locality of Vugizo by skirting the border post. “They were between 150 and 200 soldiers, heavily armed,” says Jacques Bisimwa, a Congolese who was working in his fields that day.
Objective: Attack the rear base of Nzabampema-led fighters. They wanted to raid them. According to sources in Rukoko who have remained anonymous, this operation is not communicated to the General Staff. They speak of a unilateral operation decided on a whim by a colonel whose cows were stolen in Gihanga commune of Bubanza western province by these men of Nzabampema. “This type of operation was announced in advance to the Congolese army,” sources said.
The ambush
One of the soldiers who would have been killed in the fighting.
When they arrived there, they were greeted by a hail of machine-gun fire from the men of Nzabampema. Burundian soldiers found themselves trapped on a kind of islet in the locality of Vugizo. They decided to shell, in vain. The fighting started at 8 am and continued until around 12 pm. “They were encircled on both sides of the island and could not return to the mainland,” says our source.
Finally, Burundian soldiers found a breach and retreated to Kiliba ONDES to return to Burundian soil via the Rukoko reserve. They are unfortunately repulsed by the FARDC who bombard them.
The fighting was fierce. The exchanges intensified and the FARDC asked for reinforcements that arrived from Uvira and, above all, policemen stationed at Kiliba ONDES and the City of Kiliba.
The fighting lasted until about 5 pm. The inhabitants of Kiliba took refuge to the City at more than 6 kilometers.
Mukanda Mulonda, whose son received a stray bullet in the leg, said automatic weapon sounds had been heard all day long. “We decided to flee when the fire came closer to our locality and that’s when my child was hit in the leg by a bullet.”
The casualty tall was heavy. Some sources on the spot spoke about a dozen killed on the Burundi side. Others evoked twenty or more. According to the residents of Kiliba, the Burundian military ordered the Congolese civilians who were in the fields to transport the dead bodies of the killed soldiers and a civilian. “I have counted at least five and a dozen wounded” said a resident on the spot. Still others said that the record could be heavier: “Our fields emit the odor of death. Probably there are other decaying bodies that lie there”. They asked the Red Cross to spray their fields so that they could return without fear of disease.
Accusations
The identification card of one of the soldiers killed.
On the Congolese side, military and police sources spoke of three soldiers and a police officer seriously injured as well as a child of Kiliba ONDES wounded by a stray bullet in the leg. This information was confirmed by Colonel Simon Boande, head of the police station of Kiliba ONDES:
“They transported five bodies and we recovered five and that of a civilian that were taken to the morgue of the General Hospital of Reference of Uvira by our soldiers.”
The same information was confirmed by the commander of the 3305th regiment, the operational sector of the plain within the Congolese army. He said a soldier and a Congolese civilian were slightly injured. “All those who died were wearing uniforms from the regular Burundian army. In addition, he confirmed, Kiliba residents were forced to take twelve wounded ones to Burundi. For him, it is neither more nor less than an aggression. “How else can we understand this incursion? It’s just a provocation. ”
A week after the fighting, the inhabitants of Kiliba ONDES began to return to their homes, but fear remained palpable. They feared an incursion of the Burundian military for revenge. “Since these fights have erupted, some do not spend the night here and prefer to go to Uvira for fear of reprisals,” said one sexagenarian.
In spite of this situation, Tundwa Sangiza, head of the city of Kiliba, calmed down the population. He believed that the situation was under control.
However, he urged the inhabitants to be vigilant and report any suspicious presence, while reassuring the population that its security would be assured. “We have therefore asked FARDC to increase their workforce and step up their positions.”
Divergent views
One of the cold rooms in the morgue of the hospital of Uvira before the bodies are deposited there.
On the Burundi side, the speech was quite different. Sources close to the military in the vicinity of Vugizo border post spoke of a great blow to the rebel movements which swarm in Kiliba ONDES and refuted a unilateral operation: “Our soldiers entered the Congolese soil and attacked the rear base of ‘Aloys Nzabampema. His men fled to the positions of the FARDC who massacred them.”
According to these sources, unlike what is circulating on social networks, hundreds of rebels have been killed by the elements of the FDN and the Congolese military.
However, questions remained unanswered regarding the fate of the corpses that were stored at the morgue. According to sources close to the General Hospital of Reference of Uvira, five bodies were still guarded. “The morgue has four rooms, one of which is out of use. Three corpses occupy one room, two others another. The last is occupied by the killed civilian, “said a source on condition of anonymity.
Currently, the source continued, those who lost theirs at this hospital had nowhere to keep them: “People are beginning to complain”. They demand that the bodies of the Burundians be recovered as quickly as possible.
In this regard, reliable information indicated that soldiers visited the Vugizo border post with beer crates on Christmas Day in an attempt to negotiate with FARDC soldiers to recover the bodies but to no avail. “They sent emissaries to look for the military leaders on the Congolese side, but they declined the invitation,” our sources said.
Colonel Gaspard Baratuza: “Those who spread this information have unacknowledged aims to sabotage the friendship that characterizes our two armies.”
Contacted, Colonel Gaspard Baratuza, Spokesman of the Burundian Army (FDN), refuted all this information. According to him, if there had been any fighting, it was probably between the FARDC and the deserters of the FDN, who were dressed in Burundi military uniforms.
“It is the consequence of what happened during the failed coup in 2015. Soldiers fled, some to Rwanda and Belgium, others to DR Congo. They left with their military effects”, he said.
According to Colonel Baratuza, the Congolese soldiers were surprised to see men in military uniform of the Burundian army on their ground on December 21st. “They called the commander of the first military district on the Burundi side for clarification and he told them that no Burundian military had been sent to their land. It was there that they opened fire on this group. ”
For him, media such as Radio Okapi and RFI, which relayed this false information, fell into the trap set by those who wanted to sow confusion between the Congolese and Burundian armies.”These are the lies told by certain activists of the Congolese civil society whose intention is to set the Burundian army against the Congolese army. ”
The Burundian army spokesman confirmed that the two armies have a clear convention in case an enemy makes a blunder and flees to the other territory. “We stalk him and hand him over to the authorities of the friendly country. “He said that if these clashes had taken place, Monusco would have spoken to them in Kinshasa:” If it has not yet done so, it is because there is nothing real. ”
Concerning the information of a unilateral operation of which some speak, Colonel Baratuza sweeps it with the back of his hand: “The Burundian army is mature enough not to do so. These are lies conveyed by certain activists of the Congolese civil society to set the two armies against each other. ”
The spokesman asked the reason why a soldier should prosecute cattle thieves on Congolese soil, while the two armies have a clear agreement in case an enemy makes a blunder and flees to the other territory.”Those who spread this information have unacknowledged aims to sabotage the friendship that characterizes our two armies.”
He concluded that if these clashes had taken place, Monusco would have spoken to them in Kinshasa:” If they have not yet done so, it is because there is nothing true.”
Colonel Felix Ntahonkuriye: “We had information about an imminent secret operation of the Burundian troops on our positions.”
As for the FLN of Aloys Nzabampema, he assured through his spokesman, Colonel Felix Ntahonkuriye, that his men had information about an imminent secret operation of the Burundian troops on their positions. “We organized a combat patrol in the locality of Vugizo to check this information and these FDN elements came across our men.”
Embarassment
Contacted, Nzimoto Kamesi, First Secretary of the Embassy of DRC in Burundi, did not want to comment, saying that the embassy had not yet been informed.
However, consistent sources explain that in principle the two countries cooperate closely in security matters and that the Burundian military are authorized to exercise a right of pursuit against the rebels.
As for the case of December 21, the same sources say that some officers did not respect this convention by opening fire on Burundian military, causing losses on the side of the FDN. This would partly explain the embarrassment felt by the Congolese officials, especially about the five bodies lying at the morgue of the Uvira General Reference Hospital.
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