Hundreds return from Burundi to DRC as border shut by M23 fighting reopens

More than 90,000 Congolese fled across the border after M23 stormed in and took control of Uvira nearly 3 months ago.

Uvira, Democratic Republic of the Congo – Monday, December 8, 2025, is a day Joseph Bahisi says he will always remember.

M23 rebels, who early last year captured several key towns and cities in eastern DRC, were rampaging through South Kivu province, on their way to his hometown of Uvira.

The city is located at the northern end of Lake Tanganyika, across from Burundi’s largest city, Bujumbura. It was then the last major area under government control, as Congolese armed forces – together with allied militias, called Wazalendo – fought the Rwanda-backed M23/AFC alliance.

That Monday, the fighting reached Uvira, and residents panicked.

Afraid for himself and his family, Bahisi, a 40-year-old father of four, packed up the few belongings and kitchen utensils he could carry in a suitcase, gathered his family and fled.