A nightmare unfolded in Uvira on Monday morning as bullets and rockets ripped through civilian neighborhoods, leaving death and destruction in their wake.
From the early hours, the skies roared with the sound of heavy artillery and drone strikes, while coalition forces—allegedly aligned with Presidents Félix Tshisekedi and Évariste Ndayishimiye—unleashed a wave of coordinated attacks that turned the streets into war zones.
Bullets hissed through the air, rockets slammed into homes and shops, and terrified residents ran in every direction, desperate to survive. Some were cut down as they fled, others crouched in fear behind crumbling walls, praying for mercy as explosions shook the ground beneath them.
“The streets were chaotic all morning until this afternoon,” one witness recounted, describing a city gripped by horror. Brave men risked their lives to scoop up injured children, sprinting through gunfire to find shelter—hoping to snatch life from the jaws of death before their last breath.
The onslaught, said to involve FARDC troops, FDLR elements, Mai-Mai Walendo militias, foreign mercenaries, and Burundi’s National Defense Force, struck densely populated neighborhoods without warning. By midday, the once-bustling streets of Uvira were littered with debris, shattered glass, and bodies—many of them women and children.
According to the Congo River Alliance (AFC/M23), these attacks are “a deliberate massacre” orchestrated from Uvira and Bujumbura, targeting civilians with “unprecedented violence”.
The movement has called on the national and international community to intervene immediately, warning that failure to act will lead to more bloodshed.
As night falls on Uvira, the silence is broken only by distant gunfire and the cries of survivors searching for their loved ones. The true death toll is yet to emerge, but witnesses say “it is a scene of horror no words can fully capture.”
Due to the nature of the situation, no body count has been made, but survivors suggest it is in hundreds and massive infrastructure damage as well. 