Burundi’s president has warned that the escalating conflict in eastern DR Congo could ignite a regional war.
The Rwanda-backed M23 group has seized control of Goma, the main city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and is advancing southwards.
The offensive is the latest in a region where an estimated six million people have died over three decades due to conflict.
“If Eastern Congo does not have peace, the region has no peace,” President Évariste Ndayishimiye cautioned in remarks posted on social media on Saturday.

“If it continues like this, war risks becoming widespread in the region,” he added, warning that “if Rwanda continues its conquests… war will even reach Burundi.”
Strategic Advance
The warning comes as M23 fighters push south towards Kavumu in South Kivu, a city with a strategic military airfield. The Congolese army has established its defensive line just 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Bukavu, the provincial capital.
Burundi had deployed troops in eastern DR Congo as part of the East African Community force supporting the Congolese military.
However, all but the Burundian contingents were later accused by the DRC government and local communities of colluding with forces opposed to Kinshasa.