MRDP-Twirwaneho Rejects Claims That Minembwe Center Has Been Captured by FARDC and Its Allies
The leadership of MRDP-Twirwaneho has dismissed reports that have been circulating in recent days from FARDC, the Burundian Army, Wazalendo militias, and the FDLR, claiming that they have taken control of Minembwe Center.
In a video released on Friday, June 19, 2026, featuring Major Mavugo and Colonel Rugabo Fidel, the two MRDP-Twirwaneho leaders described the reports as false and insisted that Minembwe Center remains under the movement’s control.
They stated:
“We have come to refute the reports that have been repeatedly circulated by FARDC, the Burundian Army, Wazalendo, and the FDLR claiming that they have captured Minembwe Center. We are the ones controlling this center, and we are present there.”
The leaders also asserted that during recent clashes in the Lundu area, MRDP-Twirwaneho forces pushed back a coalition composed of FARDC and its allied forces. According to their account, the coalition troops retreated toward the areas of Mutunda and Bicumbi, while others reportedly fled to a location known as Point Zéro.
MRDP-Twirwaneho further claimed that, during the fighting, it captured a significant number of opposing soldiers and seized various military assets, including numerous heavy and light weapons as well as other modern military equipment.
These statements come in response to reports and official communications that have been issued in recent days by the FARDC side, claiming that Minembwe Center had fallen under the control of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC). Among those who made such claims was Jacques Kongolo, spokesperson for President Félix Tshisekedi on security matters, who stated that FARDC had taken control of Minembwe Center.
However, MRDP-Twirwaneho continues to maintain that these claims are unfounded, insisting that it still exercises authority and control over Minembwe Center and several other strategic areas within the region.
While both sides continue to issue conflicting accounts regarding the situation on the ground, fighting remains ongoing in various parts of the Minembwe highlands and across the territories of Fizi and Mwenga. Residents continue to closely monitor developments as insecurity persists in a region that has long been affected by recurring conflict and armed confrontations.
