Around 20 wounded civilians, including several children, were evacuated from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo over the weekend as fresh clashes shook South Kivu.
The Red Cross said the humanitarian situation had “deteriorated sharply” following a new surge in violence that has uprooted families and strained already fragile medical services.
The renewed fighting comes days after DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame endorsed a peace accord in Washington that promised calm but has brought little change on the ground.
After months of relative quiet, hostilities reignited on Monday between M23 rebels, still backed by Kigali, and the Congolese army supported by thousands of Burundian troops.
The battle is unfolding across a mineral-rich region scarred by nearly 30 years of conflict and repeatedly pulled into regional rivalries.
The Red Cross said it had transferred 21 wounded people, among them seven children, to a hospital in Uvira since Saturday.
Gunfire continued on Sunday north of Uvira, the last major town in South Kivu outside M23 control and a strategic lakeside hub facing Burundi’s economic capital, Bujumbura.
Burundian military sources said at least 20 Burundian soldiers have been killed in the DRC since Monday, underscoring the growing regional cost of the escalating confrontations.
Burundi deployed its forces to eastern Congo in October 2023 under a military cooperation pact aimed at stabilising the area, though the conflict has since deepened instead of easing.
