Genocidal Weapons: Burundi is VOLUNTARILY Starving Banyamulenge in Minembwe.
On 12 November 2025, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) published an article in Kirundi confirming that Burundi is voluntarily starving the Banyamulenge civilians in Minembwe. Burundian armed forces spokesperson, Brigadier General Gaspard Baratuza stated openly that civilians in Minembwe should leave their homes and villages or face starvation or hunger.
In Kirundi language, Bde Gen Gaspard Baratuza claimed that:
“Uwuvuye za Minembwe aba ariko akorana n’umwansi uwo ntarengana birumvikana, ni bavavanure n’abo bansi n’abo bagizi ba nabi hanyuma barabe yuko batidegemvya uko bashaka.”
Literally, Gen Gaspard meant that “those coming from Minembwe are working with the enemy, and of course, they cannot pass [travel towards Bijombo and Uvira]; they must dissociate themselves with the enemies and criminals so that they can freely move as they want. This is typically a planned starvation imposed on Banyamulenge civilians regardless of their vulnerable security conditions.
- Starvation and Hunger as Genocidal Weapons
Mass starvation and hunger are no longer considered as a side-effect of violent conflicts. Starvation and hunger are deployed as deliberate weapons to weaken, annihilate, and destroy a targeted group.
Throughout history, rulers and armed forces have resorted to starvation as a means of controlling populations or eradicating resistance. Between 1932–33, in what is known as the Holodomor famine, the Soviet Union imposed a blockade and sealed its borders, preventing starving Ukrainian peasants from fleeing to find food in other regions. Millions of Ukrainians died from such a blockade. Similar tactics have been used in modern and recent conflicts. The Russia-Ukraine conflict revived memories of starvation as a weapon of destruction.
Ethiopia is believed to have imposed hunger and starvation on civilians in the Tigray region. Meanwhile, it is said that Ethiopian authorities prevented humanitarian organisations from accessing starved civilians in Tigray. Millions have been affected by the blockade while hundreds of thousands have died, states the World Peace Foundation, 2023.
The Saudi blockade imposed on Yemen has inflicted widespread civilian suffering. Civilians in Sudan are experiencing similar imposition of a blockade that prevents humanitarian organisations from accessing starved children and vulnerable groups. The United Nations sees it as “a manmade crisis, driven by conflict.” The case of civilians in Gaza speaks louder. It has been proven that “widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease” led to hundreds of thousands of deaths in Gaza. Starvation kills and destroys.
2. Starvation and Hunger in the Genocide Convention (1948)
The UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948) lists starvation and hunger as part of acts of genocidal intent. In (c), the Genocide Convention stipulates that acts of genocide include “Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part”. Therefore, the Genocide encompasses deliberate starvation policies.
The International Humanitarian Law, particularly Article 54 of Additional Protocol I (1977) to the Geneva Conventions, explicitly prohibits “starving civilians as a method of warfare.” As one can read, starvation and hunger are not only devastating, but they also have moral and social consequences. Starvation causes slow death through malnutrition and disease, but also dismantles community structures. Hunger and starvation leave survivors traumatised and dependent, thereby fulfilling both the physical and cultural dimensions of genocide.
3. Understand the socio-Security Context in Minembwe
Most of the local populations in Minembwe are internally displaced people who fled their localities ― villages and find shelter there. In a move to contest the Minembwe rural Municipality, militias whose beliefs and leitmotif are to get rid of the “invaders”, Banyamulenge, organised attacks since 2019 against civilians. From 2019 onwards, they have suffered from coordinated and regular attacks of local and foreign militias and particularly the Congolese armed forces, FARDC. The coalition of militias supported by FARDC killed thousands of civilians, burnt to ashes more than 400 settlements (villages), and cattle were entirely pillaged and killed. This new wave of violence erupted in 2017 and involved Rwanda and Burundi following the 2015 failed military coup.
Attacks targeted specifically members of the Banyamulenge, who are Congolese civilians portrayed as not real Congolese. The Congolese state has failed to protect them against militia attacks. In addition, the Congolese armed forces coalesced with militias to coordinate these attacks. The presence of foreign armed groups, namely Burundian, worsened the vulnerability of the Banyamulenge civilians. In a proxy warfare between Rwanda and Burundi, Rwandan security services supported Burundian rebels that coalesced with Congolese local militias and armed combatants known as MaiMai to attack and destroy everything on their way.
The current security situation of the Banyamulenge in Minembwe has drastically deteriorated in 2025, leading to a total imposed blockade. From mid-February 2025 onwards, there is no single route to enter or exit Minembwe. Again, Banyamulenge civilians in Minembwe who suffered from attacks of Burundian rebels are now experiencing starvation and hunger as Burundian armed forces (FDNB) are claiming to contain Rwanda and M23 influence in Minembwe. It should be noted that FDNB has no issue cooperating with local militias and armed combatants who have actively operated with their rebels in recent years. This is a double-standard move, especially if the alliance involves armed groups seeking to eliminate an entire ethnic community.
Conclusion
This is another wave of proxy warfare between Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC. The Burundian government and FNDB should know that Banyamulenge in Minembwe are CIVILIANS. Though contested, Minembwe is their homeland and they have nowhere elese to go. They have never collectively joined any armed group or rebellion, including Alliance Fleuve Congo-M23. Individuals and groups can join, but this is not a collective decision to the extent they all can be punished. The Banyamulenge civilians nor have an intention to overthrow the Burundian regime because this is not their mandate – mission. They only yawn for peace, and the Burundian government should consider treating civilians in conflict zones and in Minembwe with dignity. Burundi should recall that starvation and hunger are crimes against humanity and part of the genocidal killing machine.
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