Madrid: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has begun the relocation of refugees fleeing from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Burundi.
According to Namibia Press Agency, more than 1,000 DRC refugees who were temporarily sheltered at Kaburantwa Catholic Parish in Buganda district, Cibitoke province, northwest Burundi, took buses Saturday heading for Musenyi refugee site in Giharo district in Rutana Province, southeast Burundi.
“We’re very happy to be in this safer place here in Burundi. We’re also happy that the UNHCR is going to relocate us to another place which, we believe, is also better,” Chantal Nabitu, one of the Congolese refugees, told Xinhua as she was boarding a bus. She expressed hope that their children will be able to resume their education, noting the ongoing conflict in North and South Kivu provinces in eastern DRC. Nabitu extended her gratitude to both the UNHCR and the Burundian government for their assistance.
Brigitte Mukanga-Eno, UNHCR representative in Burundi who visited Kaburantwa, stated that the relocation is in accordance with international conventions, moving refugees to camps and sites far from the border. “We have to respect international standards. That’s why we’re taking them far from the border,” she said. At the Musenyi refugee site, refugees will have access to potable water, and the World Food Program (WFP) has secured their food supply for the next two weeks. However, Mukanga-Eno emphasized the need for support from other partners to continue providing food beyond this period. Education for the children will also resume at the refugee site.
After Kaburantwa, Mukanga-Eno visited Rugombo stadium, another transit site hosting over 30,000 DRC asylum-seekers in the district of Rugombo in northwest Burundi. Their relocation to refugee sites in the provinces of Mwaro in central Burundi and Rutana in southeast Burundi is scheduled to start on Monday.
On February 19, Burundian Interior, Community Development, and Public Security Minister Martin Niteretse announced that Burundi had already received more than 40,000 DRC asylum-seekers, urging for both national and international solidarity to support efforts in assisting them and addressing the humanitarian crisis. The minister noted that the asylum-seekers also include members of the defense and security forces, with a sharp increase in new arrivals observed after February 14.