Scores of Burundian and Congolese soldiers fled to Burundi on Monday, December 8, as fighting with the AFC/M23 rebels escalated in South Kivu, eastern DR Congo, media reports said.

The withdrawing soldiers were disarmed upon arrival at the DR Congo-Burundi border. One Burundian media reported an "influx of soldiers, militiamen and civilians" fleeing to Burundi from South Kivu province, which has seen an escalation in fighting between the AFC/M23 rebels since the beginning of December.

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The Burundian army has not made official statements about the withdrawal.

Other reports said some Congolese soldiers and their allied Wazalendo militias took boats to Kalemie, a territory in neighboring Tanganyika province.

The government coalition that includes the Burundian troops and the Wazalendo militia has made several losses in recent days, with the AFC/M23 rebels taking control of Kamanyola and Luvungi, areas near the Burundian border.

Fighting continued Monday in an area called Sange, some 30 kilometres from Uvira, the second largest city in South Kivu.