Congo’s government says Rwanda-backed rebels have occupied a second major city in mineral-rich eastern Congo.

Dozens of Burundian troops have been detained for refusing to be deployed to eastern Congo in the fight against the M23 rebel group.

The third round of Congo peace talks facilitated by the East Africa regional bloc has begun in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, with a plan to discuss reforms that will facilitate disarmament of rebel groups.

Opposition leaders and human rights groups are warning that Burundi’s government has shown little if any improvement under President Evariste Ndayishimiye, who took office after the death of President Pierre Nkurunziza in 2020 with talk of reforms after years of deadly political crackdowns.

In this UNTV image, Evariste Ndayishimiye, President of Burundi, speaks in a pre-recorded video message during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, at UN headquarters in New York. ___4:55 p.m.China, the United States and Russia have traded allegations at the United Nations about who mishandled and politicized the coronavirus pandemic. It was one of the few real-time exchanges among top officials at the virtual U.N. General Assembly gathering. Sarraj delivered his prerecorded remarks to the world body’s first-ever virtual General Assembly from Tripoli, where his U.N.-backed government is based. The council met Thursday on the sidelines of the General Assembly’s virtual gathering of world leaders.

The abuses that followed drew international condemnation and led Burundi to leave the International Criminal Court and kick out the U.N. human rights office. The U.N. commission of inquiry said Burundi’s government has not responded to its correspondence. The new report found that Ndayishimiye appears to be taking the coronavirus pandemic more seriously than his predecessor, who declared that Burundi had divine protection. It called for the immediate release of human rights activists, political prisoners and journalists who were arbitrarily detained. The report says the pandemic has limited its investigative work into other alleged abuses in Burundi.

Burundi's government said Tuesday, June 9, 2020 that President Pierre Nkurunziza has died of a heart attack. (AP Photo/Berthier Mugiraneza, File)NAIROBI Burundis constitutional court on Friday said the president-elect should be sworn in as soon as possible, ending uncertainty created by the death of President Pierre Nkurunziza this week. Ndayishimiye was the ruling party candidate in the election, defeating opposition leader Agathon Rwasa, who challenged the vote in court while alleging irregularities but lost. Legally speaking, all Burundians know its the speaker, Pascal Nyabenda, who is supposed to take over as interim president. What the ruling party is doing is simply a coup, Magera said.