UN says Tens of thousands fled conflict in Congo, and Burundi is overwhelmed
The U.N. refugee agency said on Friday that the conflict in the Congo has caused over 84,000 refugees to escape into neighboring Burundi this month in the second significant inflow this year, straining the nation’s capacity to cope.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda signed a peace agreement mediated by the United States in June, but combat between the Congolese army and the M23 rebels, who are supported by Rwanda, has persisted near the eastern town of Uvira.
Rwanda has blamed Congolese and Burundian forces for the resurgence of hostilities and denied any support for M23. In July, a panel of specialists from the United Nations concluded that Rwanda had command and control over the rebels.
“Thousands of people crossing the border on foot and by boats each day have overwhelmed local resources, creating a major humanitarian emergency that requires immediate global support,” the UNHCR stated in a statement.
Despite M23’s promises to retreat, boats full of migrants were crossing Lake Tanganyika every day from the impacted South Kivu region near Uvira, UNHCR’s Burundi representative Brigitte Mukanga-eno told reporters in Geneva.
According to her, some of the boats are in bad shape, and one of them overturned this week, drowning everyone on board.
She detailed the unsanitary conditions that led to cholera outbreaks in Burundi’s camps, where long lines formed for meager food and water supplies.
At Burundi’s Gatumba refugee reception center, Mapendo Malahaba, a 50-year-old mother of seven, told Reuters last week that she had lost contact with her kids during her escape.
Anzuruni, another refugee at the same facility, expressed dissatisfaction at the lack of resources and the open defecation in the area.
“Neither refreshments nor restrooms are available. “It’s catastrophic, the population is suffering,” he remarked.
According to UNHCR’s Mukanga-eno, Burundi, one of the world’s poorest nations, has started an appeal for $35 million to help cover the immediate requirements, but the future is uncertain because many foreign donors have drastically reduced aid this year.
“We really hope that with the flash appeal, there will be some response as soon as possible, to avoid the conditions going from bad to worse,” she stated.
Only half of the 70,000 people who fled to Burundi earlier this year due to the same fighting in Congo have returned, according to the UNHCR. At the time, this was the largest migration in decades.
