Heineken loses operational control of facilities in Congos war-hit east

(In Paragraph 7, it refers to Amstel as one of the brands produced in the four beer factories in the Democratic Republic of Congo)

June 20 (Reuters) – Heineken lost operational control and withdrawn its personnel from its facilities in the democratic Congo Democratic Republic of Congo.

In March, the beverage Giant said that the operations in the three eastern citys would be suspended until it was safe to reopen after the beer factory was shot and raided during the fight between the warehouses and warehouses.

However, on Friday, the beer producer situation worse, and the armed staff, the rebellious -controlled Eastern Congo’s two largest cities in Bukavu and Goma, said the control of the facilities in Goma.

“The conditions required to work responsible and safely are no longer available and we have lost operational control as of June 12, 2025.” He said.

Heineken’s Congo Unit Bralima is still in other parts of the country that is not affected by conflict.

The group has four beer factories in Congo and produces other popular brands such as Heineken Beer and Primus. Bukavu facilities have previously employed about 1,000 people directly and indirectly.

“Our priority is the safety and prosperity of our employees.” He said. He continued: “We withdrew all the remaining personnel from these sites and continued to support them financially.”

Approximately 14% of Heineken’s total revenue comes from its business in the Middle East and Africa, where Congo is a large market with a population of more than 100 million.

Operations in Goma, Bukavu and Uvira cities had previously formed about one -third of Heineken’s work in Congo.

The M23 Rebel group made a rapid progress that increased the fears of a wider conflict, while fighting in Eastern Congo climbed this year.

Congo says Rwanda supports M23 by sending troops and weapons. Rwanda has long refused to help M23.

The two countries and the United States said on Wednesday that technical teams started a draft peace agreement expected to be signed next week. (Reporting by Sonia Rolley; Writing by Alessandro Parody and Sfundo Parkozov;