AFC/M23 Facilitates Return of Over 500 Burundians from Uvira

Uvira, December 14, 2025 - The AFC/M23 coalition has assisted more than 500 Burundian nationals to return home from Uvira, days after they were stranded by fighting and the closure of the Kavimvira and Vugizo border crossings by Burundi.

The returnees, many of them traders who had been working in South Kivu, said they were trapped in Uvira after the rebels entered the city on December 9. “I was stuck because of the fighting. Sometimes we had to hide. I am happy to return safely,” one Burundian said at the Kavimvira crossing.

Another returnee, identified as Mugenzi, said dozens of Burundian businesspeople faced similar difficulties and stressed that the move was a temporary return, pending security developments.

AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said the operation followed discussions with Burundian authorities, arguing that the group had not closed the border. “These are our fellow Africans. Our border is open, but Burundi’s is closed. We asked them to open it for humanitarian reasons,” he said.

Meanwhile, more than 20,000 Congolese civilians who fled to Burundi following the fall of Uvira remain unable to return, as Burundian authorities have kept the border closed.