A key border post between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi has reopened after more than two months of closure following an offensive by AFC/M23 rebels. More than 10,000 people crossed on the first day alone, according to local authorities.
The Kavimvira crossing, a key trade route linking Uvira in South Kivu province with Burundi's economic capital Bujumbura, reopened on Monday after Congolese authorities reasserted control of the area.
Operations will resume from 5am to 5pm daily.
An official ceremony, in the presence of Congolese and Burundian representatives, will be held on Tuesday.
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The Kavimvira post was closed in December after the Rwanda-backed M23 seized the town of Uvira in eastern DRC, giving it control of the land border with Burundi and cutting off the DRC from military support from its neighbour.
Congolese authorities say the threat has been "significantly reduced" following the withdrawal of rebel forces from Uvira on 18 January.
The 'wowo' women carrying DRC's border trade on their backs, despite the risks
Vital trade route
The reopening revives a key trade route for cross-border trade.
According to the South Kivu governor Jean-Jacques Purusi Sadiki, the land and lake borders with Burundi account for nearly 50 per cent of the provincial economy.
They form a strategic corridor for goods arriving from ports in the Indian Ocean, notably Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, which transit through Burundi before supplying the Grand Kivu region.
Traders and professionals, heavily dependent on the trade route, are gradually resuming their activities.
"All the time this border was closed, it was as if we were cut off from the rest of the world," says Robert Mayani, a Congolese entrepreneur who exports beer to Burundi, relieved that he can restart his business.
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Humanitarian aid
The reopening is also expected to ease the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The area is home to around 400,000 displaced people, and more than one million people in South Kivu's Ruzizi Plain.
Governor Purusi has announced the imminent arrival of 4,000 tonnes of food from the World Food Programme, as well as expanded operations by the Red Cross.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Congolese who fled into Burundi because of the M23 offensive are now hoping to return and resume work.
"My patients were suffering from my absence and when some learned that I was back, they were very happy," says Dr Guilain Bilal, who returned to Uvira after several weeks in Bujumbura.
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"I even operated on someone today [Monday], I performed a caesarean section. A little boy was born. It's a blessing, as Christians like to say!"
Other Burundi-DR Congo border posts in zones where the AFC/M23 forces are deployed remain closed, police sources told AFP on condition of anonymity.
(With newswires)
