Thousands of Congolese Flee to Burundi
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UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
January 8, 2003
Posted to the web January 8, 2003
Nairobi
A new wave of at least 8,500 Congolese refugees has arrived in Burundi
following renewed fighting in South Kivu Province in the east of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UNHCR reported on Tuesday.
The latest conflict erupted on 26 December between the Mayi-Mayi traditional
militia and the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Goma (RCD-Goma) in
rural areas of South Kivu. By 31 December, the fighting had engulfed the
strategic town of Uvira on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, sending thousands
of refugees across the border, the office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported.
It added that since 26 December, UNHCR in Burundi had registered 7,386
refugees at a transit site in Rugombo in Cibitoke Province, and 1,200 at
another site in Gatumba, Bujumbura Rural. Wartorn Burundi already shelters at
least 12,000 Congolese refugees who had fled an outbreak of hostilities
between the two rebel groups in October 2002, UNHCR said.
The latest fighting in South Kivu comes nearly three weeks after the signing
of a power-sharing deal between the Kinshasa government, the main rebel
groups and the DRC's political opposition to end the four-year war and pave
the way for elections in two years.
"There are growing concerns that RCD-Goma, which controls much of the Kivu
region and various border crossings in South Kivu, is preventing people from
leaving the strife-torn area to neighbouring Burundi," UNHCR reported.
It added that Congolese refugees who had crossed the border had reported that
the rebels were allowing only possessors of travel documents to leave South
Kivu. Most of those fleeing to Burundi, the agency said, did not have such
documents. They were therefore being "forced to cross the Rusizi river -
which separates eastern DRC from Burundi - before dawn, when the checkpoints
are unmanned".
Many refugees, it said, started crossing the river border at about 4 a.m.,
then sneaked through the bush along the shores of Lake Tanganyika and arrived
in safer areas of Burundi by early morning, exhausted from the three-hour
journey.
UNHCR said the waters of the river were rising steadily due to rains,
"raising concerns for the safety of those trying to cross". It said that
Burundian military personnel had been registering the new arrivals. They then
escorted the refugees through the Rusizi National Park to the temporary site
at Gatumba. UNHCR said recent arrivals included some 40 fishermen who had
fled with their fishing boats and equipment. "They have asked to be allowed
to remain among local fishermen along the shores of the lake," it added.
Meanwhile, UNHCR said it had been compelled to transfer Congolese refugees
displaced by October's conflicts from border sites in Rugombo and Gatumba to
safer inland camps in Cishemeye in Cibitoke Province, and Gasorwe in Muyinga
Province. So far, the agency reported, it had moved 3,013 refugees to
Cishemeye and 2,373 to Gasorwe. At least 6,500 others remained at the two
temporary sites, awaiting relocation to the camps.
"The latest influx of refugees from South Kivu will delay the expected
closure of the border sites," UNHCR said.
