What aas the Belgian military Aircraft carrying as It traveled to the DRC and then to Bujumbura?
On March 17, 2025, a Belgian military aircraft, a Dassault Falcon 7X, departed from Brussels for Africa, heading to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Its first stop was in Kinshasa at 4:45 PM after a seven-hour, 27-minute journey. The next day, it continued its flight, taking one hour and 36 minutes to land in Kindu, in the Maniema Province.
The aircraft did not stay overnight in Kindu. Instead, in the late afternoon, it returned to Kinshasa, where it remained for two days before departing back to Brussels on March 20.
The following day, the aircraft returned to Africa, making a nine-hour, 30-minute journey before landing in Bujumbura, Burundi, where it stayed for one day. On March 21 at 9:07 AM, it took off again for Brussels.
No official information has been released about the purpose of the military aircraft’s trip to Kindu, Kinshasa, and Bujumbura. However, some reports suggest that Belgium may have deployed troops to the DRC.
It is believed that these troops may have been stationed in Kindu, bringing with them equipment such as drones and armored vehicles. While it remains unclear whether they were sent into combat, Belgium has long supported the DRC in its conflict with the M23 rebel group.
Additionally, reports indicate that Belgian troops may have been assigned to train soldiers in the DRC’s 31st Rapid Intervention Battalion.
The European Union (EU) recently granted the DRC a €20 million aid package to support the “construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure” for this battalion, which operates in Kindu.
If Belgium has indeed deployed troops to the DRC, it would not be surprising given its ongoing efforts to push for sanctions against Rwanda and M23, accusing them of destabilizing security in eastern Congo.
Belgium has led this campaign while ignoring the Congolese army’s collaboration with the terrorist group FDLR, which was founded by individuals responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, as well as the Wazalendo militias, which share the same ideology.
By sending troops into the conflict in eastern DRC, Belgium would be openly aligning itself with FDLR and Wazalendo—groups with a long history of committing human rights abuses.
Such a move would go against resolutions made by African leaders, who have called on the warring parties in eastern DRC to engage in peace talks as the only path to lasting peace and security.
