Fighting between Wazalendo fighters, allied with the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC), and the AFC-M23 rebellion, supported by the Rwandan army, continued late Tuesday, December 2, in the Kaziba chiefdom and in Kamanyola, in the Walungu territory (South Kivu).
According to multiple sources, the death toll includes about ten civilians killed by shelling in Kaziba and three children in the town of Kamanyola. Several public infrastructures, including schools and churches, were destroyed.
Five villages were affected. Most of the victims are children, according to several sources contacted by Radio Okapi in Kaziba and Kamanyola. Dozens of civilians were also wounded. Among them is a journalist from a local radio station in Kamanyola.
These sources also indicate that these individuals were hit by bombs dropped from unidentified positions as fighting raged between the warring parties.
Residents from Rusizi, Rwanda have also reported seeing a new wave of Congolese refugees entering through Bugarama in the District as fighting intensifies just across the border in Kamanyola.
Many are fleeing heavy shelling attributed to joint DRC–Burundian forces. Witnesses say a bomb landed in Kamanyola earlier in the day, triggering panic as gunfire echoed across the frontier.
Five groups in the chiefdom of Kaziba-Muhumba, Ngando, Bulumbwa, Kashozi and Mucingwa, have recorded even more losses, both human and material, according to this provisional assessment.
There is an increasing influx of Congolese refugees crossing into Rwanda through Bugarama in Rusizi District, fleeing heavy fighting in neighbouring Kamanyola, DR Congo. The arrivals say they are escaping intense shelling by DRC–Burundian coalition forces. Earlier, a bomb reportedly landed in Kamanyola, just across the border, as heavy gunfire continued in the area.
The fighting in Uvira is part of the wider offensive linked to M23’s 2025 attacking, which included the capture of the provincial capital of Bukavu and advances towards other cities in the region.
The conflict is primarily between the Congolese army and its allies, such as the Wazalendo, against the M23 rebel group who are reported to be supported by Rwanda. Rwanda denies the allegations.
The fighting has caused significant civilian displacement, with over 250,000 displaced people in Uvira alone by May 2025.
The security situation is volatile, with reports of gunfire inside hospitals, leading to fear and restricted access to medical care, notes Doctors Without Borders.
Some civilians have been killed, including children, due to shelling and gunfire, according to Human Rights Watch. The violence has also blocked economic activity, making access to food critical for the population.
United States President Donald Trump will host the leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Thursday, the White House has announced.
Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters that DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, who arrived in Washington on Wednesday and Rwanda President Paul Kagame will sign a “historic peace and economic agreement that [Trump] brokered”.
The event comes after the foreign ministers of the two African nations signed a preliminary peace agreement and economic pact at a White House event in June. After months of talks, they met in Qatar in November and signed a framework with the ultimate goal of putting an end to years of fighting.
