Burundi is discreetly withdrawing troops deployed in eastern DRC in the face of the advance of the M23 and its Rwandan allies, despite official denials, military and official sources told AFP on Wednesday.

Since 2023, Burundi has deployed around 10,000 soldiers in support of the army of the Democratic Republic of Congo, its neighbor, where the M23, aided by Rwandan troops, has carried out a lightning offensive in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, a Burundian army spokesman, Gaspard Baratuza, denied reports of a Burundian retreat, saying that troops "continue to carry out their missions in their areas of responsibility."

But sources questioned by AFP on condition of anonymity have notably affirmed that the Burundian soldiers were no longer in their position.

"We had set up a line of defence in Kamanyola to try to stop the advance of the M23 and Rwandan soldiers, but we had to make a tactical withdrawal under enemy attack yesterday (Tuesday)," a senior officer told AFP.

Since then, "part of our troops deployed in the east of the DRC are returning to the country on foot, crossing the Rusizi River at Sange before entering the province of Cibitoke" in Burundi, he added.

This information was confirmed by a senior Burundian official to AFP.

Some soldiers "have been forced to retreat each time, suffering losses (…) They arrive hungry and without any more ammunition because it has been a while since they have been resupplied," said the official.

After taking Goma, a large city and economic hub of North Kivu, at the end of January, the M23 and its Rwandan allies seized Bukavu, the provincial capital of South Kivu, on Sunday.

The majority of Burundian troops in the DRC have recently been positioned around Bukavu, located only around fifty km from Burundi.

The rest of the soldiers were deployed further south in South Kivu, to fight Burundian rebels present in the area.

Two other sources, one security and the other administrative, affirmed that these last troops, posted in particular in the border zone of Uvira, were "still in operation".

"We are looking at how to bring them back to Burundi quickly," said the security source.

Other soldiers who were positioned in the Rusizi area are being gathered in Gatumba, on the Burundian side, according to the administrative source. She claims to have seen in the last three days "about ten military trucks leaving for the border empty and returning full of soldiers."