The United Nations Group of Experts has released its recent report, the June 2025 mid-term report. Large of 257 pages, the situation in South Kivu is briefly reported on pages 39-42 (§ 169-181).
This is how one can summarise the United Nations Group of Experts (UNGoEs) perspective: It’s only until you die or you are hit by a drone that experts will acknowledge and understand that someone was defiant. While the circumstances behind Makanika’s death― assassination are yet uncertain, experts can now state that he has been defiant vis-à-vis Rwanda! Who knows if others are assassinated, they will not call them “dissidents”. Read experts
Some dissidents, including in the diaspora, were targeted for assassination, their names circulating on hit-lists called “akagara” (see Mid-term UNGoEs report, para 176, page: 41)
I fail to understand how these activists are portrayed as “dissidents”. Dissidents? While I commend UNGoE’s efforts to raise the alarm against bullying and intimidating campaigns against Banyamulenge activists who are against the instrumentalization of their community’s grievances and the risks of assassinations they face, more experts should pay attention to the situation of civilians who have been victims of targeted violence for many years now.
The report largely disregards the worsening security situation of civilians, and mostly the Banyamulenge civilians caught between the rock and a hard place: parties in the conflict who are trying to drag the Banyamulenge civilians on their sides or collectively victimise an entire community for something the Congolese government and its army (FARDC) has failed to contain.
- An urgent situation
Below is the current security situation of the Banyamulenge in South Kivu:
Due to an armed siege imposed on Banyamulenge civilians in Minembwe, the situation of the local population is extremely uncertain. Civilians in Minembwe struggle to find basic products such as soap, sugar, salt… on local markets. For instance, the price of one Kg of sugar is approximately $10, that of 1 kg of salt is $11, while that of a soap is $10. The price increase is approximately 400% compared to how it was around November and December 2024.
Even with such an extraordinarily high price, these basic products are very rare as they can only be obtained at a 50-60 km walk (one way). Such a long walking distance is associated with high risks of being killed or attacked by armed combatants.
Because of such an imposed siege, it is largely impossible to help the casualties and wounded people because health facilities are running out of stock in Minembwe. There is no single transport route (no road, no airlift…) through which casualties can be transported (evacuated) outside of Minembwe.
From early 2025 onwards, existing transport routes were completely blocked, and telecommunication facilities were also destroyed; all means used to send financial support to relatives and families were also blocked. This is an area sheltering thousands of civilians.
Humanitarian organisations, including the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), are not concerned with this situation that affects thousands of civilians. On the 30th of June 2025, an airplane was destroyed by a drone in Minembwe. Some sources have claimed the airplane was on a humanitarian mission. While it’s yet unclear if the airplane was a humanitarian one, the destruction endangers efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to civilians.
- Guns proliferation and proxy wars
This is not a recent phenomenon. Since 2019, Minembwe shelters thousands of Banyamulenge families whose localities, villages, and their cattle were completely decimated in front of the Congolese army, UN peacekeeping mission, and regional countries. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this can happen in Minembwe and to Banyamulenge.
Mike Hammer (the then US Ambassador to DRC) visiting Minembwe (2020)
This situation has dramatically deteriorated following Sematama’s declaration to formally join the Alliance Fleuve Congo-AFC/M23. Such a decision cannot be attributed to the entire community but also needs to be understood in the local context that emerged in 2017. A few other localities where Banyamulenge have been forced to flee inside the DRC are regularly attacked. This historical experience of the Banyamulenge shows that they are exposed to a slow process of elimination.
In 2017 onwards, the socio-security context in South Kivu drastically deteriorated as DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi were fighting a proxy (direct) war. Countless militias received ammunition and guns from belligerents. It has been documented that Rwanda’s proxy, Burundian Red-Tabara coalesced with local militias to attack the Banyamulenge.
Experts tend to use the resurgence of M23 and regional dynamics to explain the current situation. What is more alarming compared to the 2017-2024 experience is that Twirwaneho has been dragged into open confrontations vis-à-vis the Burundian army (FNDB). It seems that the promised support by Rwanda and M23 was tied to such open confrontation. On top of that, local militias (currently called Wazalendo = patriots) have received guns and ammunition from the DRC government and the army (FARDC) to oppose the rebel group M23 and its ally, the Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF). These guns are now used to attack Banyamulenge civilians. Local militias in South Kivu have found an excuse: “Twirwaneho”, the Banyamulenge-affiliated self/armed group has officially joined M23/AFC (Alliance Fleuve Congo). The fact that Twirwaneho has joined M23/AFC justifies attacks against the Banyamulenge civilians.
Conclusion
At the time, the Trump administration and the Qatari government are working to secure a peace deal between the DRC and Rwanda and the DRC and M23; the Banyamulenge’s inhumane situation has again been overlooked by UNGoEs. One recalls that, for simplifying violence against civilians, thousands were killed, hundreds of villages and social infrastructures destroyed, while hundreds of thousands of cattle were looted as experts reported violence in South Kivu every six months.
Eastern Congo Tribune team
