DRC President Félix Tshisekedi has asked Burundi to support efforts to disarm FDLR fighters, although Burundian troops have fought alongside the FDLR and Congolese government forces in eastern DRC.
Floribert Anzuluni Isiloketshi, the DRC minister for regional integration and Tshisekedi’s special envoy, met Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye at Kiriri in Bujumbura on October 1.
He was accompanied by Sumbu Sita Mambu, a representative of Tshisekedi, and other officials.
The delegation briefed Ndayishimiye on a protocol for the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of FDLR combatants. Anzuluni urged Burundi to support the process.
The announcement did not specify where surrendering fighters would be held or transferred.
Burundi is already part of the conflict. A UN Group of Experts report documented FARDC, Wazalendo, FDLR and Burundian National Defence Force troops fighting in the same coalition against M23 and the Rwanda Defence Force.
Kivu Today has also reported Burundian forces operating alongside the FDLR and Wazalendo. Burundi is therefore not a neutral party to oversee the FDLR’s disarmament.
The civilian toll in Minembwe and surrounding areas has been severe. A report by Conspiracy Tracker Great Lakes estimated that at least 315 people were killed in attacks between February and June 2026, attributing the deaths to Congolese government military operations.
It said local records put cumulative conflict-related deaths in the wider area above 2,000. The report also documented damage to civilian infrastructure.
The process is further complicated by the diplomatic impasse between Burundi and Rwanda. Burundi closed its land borders with Rwanda in January 2024, and relations remain strained.
With the announcement silent on where FDLR fighters would go, Tshisekedi’s appeal raises a basic question: can Burundi credibly oversee or receive fighters from a group alongside which its forces have fought?