Great Lakes: The Alliance of Shame and the Plunder of Resources – The Alarm Cry of URN HITAMWONEZA (Week of March 7 to 14, 2026)
Introduction
In March 2026, the Great Lakes region is experiencing one of the darkest periods in its recent history. Behind the official discourses of “sovereignty” and “defense of the homeland” lies a sinister reality: an operational alliance between the regimes of Gitega and Kinshasa with genocidal terrorist forces, financed by the systematic plunder of mineral resources. URN HITAMWONEZA lifts the veil on this predatory system that sacrifices the lives of civilian populations on the altar of maintaining Évariste Ndayishimiye and Félix Tshisekedi in power.
Operational Alliance with the FDLR: An Open Secret
While the international community multiplies selective sanctions, it pretends to ignore the de facto integration of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) within the security apparatuses of Burundi and the DRC.
• Coordination on the Ground: The recent mid-term report of the United Nations Group of Experts (S/2025/858) confirms that elements of the FARDC and Burundian forces (FDNB) directly coordinate their offensives with the FDLR against the M23. This collaboration is no longer merely logistical; it has become strategic and operational.
• The Role of Auxiliary Militias: The Imbonerakure in Burundi and the Wazalendo in the DRC serve as a front for this alliance. Under the guise of “vigilance groups” or “patriots,” these militias frame and protect FDLR elements, offering them a facade of legitimacy to operate in Congolese and Burundian territory.
• Betrayal of International Commitments: This complicity constitutes a flagrant violation of the 1999 Lusaka Accords, sponsored by the United States, which demanded the unconditional disarmament of all armed groups, with the FDLR at the forefront.
Resource Plunder: The Price of Protection
To guarantee their political survival and finance this war machine, the Ndayishimiye and Tshisekedi regimes have established a barter system: “Security for Minerals.”
• The Washington Agreement and Mining Opacity: On March 10, 2026, on the sidelines of regional tensions, the Burundian government concluded exclusivity agreements in Washington for the exploitation of Musongati nickel with firms such as Lifezone Metals. URN HITAMWONEZA denounces the total opacity of these contracts, signed by Minister Hassan Kibeya, whose real benefits for the Burundian people remain unknown.
• Financing Terrorists through Mines: The FDLR continues to finance itself through the illegal exploitation of gold, coltan, and cassiterite in areas under Congolese governmental control. Local FARDC and FDNB officers facilitate access to mining sites and the transit of minerals in exchange for military support from the FDLR to protect strategic areas and the personal interests of leaders.
• Diversion of National Wealth: While populations languish in misery and face chronic shortages of fuel and foreign currency, the country’s underground wealth is being squandered to buy the loyalty of militias and the silence of certain foreign partners.
The Risk of an Imminent Humanitarian Catastrophe
The current military escalation, marked by the use of attack drones in residential areas such as Goma on March 11, 2026, poses a deadly risk to civilians.
• Indiscriminate Bombings: The FARDC drone strikes in the Himbi district, which cost the lives of a French humanitarian worker and innocent civilians, illustrate the failure to protect populations.
• Hate Speech and Incitement to Violence: The belligerent statements of Félix Tshisekedi comparing his neighbors to historical figures of evil, and Évariste Ndayishimiye’s calls for the subversion of the youth of a neighboring nation, prepare the ground for massacres.
• Urgency to Act: If this dynamic of hatred and plunder is not stopped “vuba nabwangu” (immediately), the region risks plunging into irreversible chaos whose consequences will extend beyond the borders of the Great Lakes.
Conclusion: The Call for Resistance and Justice
URN HITAMWONEZA calls on the Burundian and Congolese people not to be distracted by the deceitful nationalist rhetoric of the regimes in power. The true enemies of peace are those who arm terrorists, plunder national resources, and sacrifice the lives of citizens to protect their presidential seats.
We demand:
1.The immediate cessation of all collaboration between regular forces (FARDC, FDNB) and the terrorist groups FDLR.
2.Full transparency on all recently signed mining agreements, particularly those concluded in Washington.
3.Equitable international sanctions targeting high-ranking Burundian and Congolese officials involved in supporting negative forces and plundering resources.
4.Unconditional protection of civilians and humanitarian workers against the indiscriminate use of military technology.
Renaissance and Truth can only triumph when the masks fall and those responsible for this “Alliance of Shame” are held accountable before history and justice.
URN HITAMWONEZA
For Renaissance and Truth
