Thousands of Congolese Refugees Continue to Flood Into Burundi, UN Says
Email This Page
Print This Page
Visit The Publisher's Site
UN News Service (New York)
June 15, 2004
Posted to the web June 18, 2004
With thousands of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) fleeing
either sporadic insurgent attacks or the fighting against government forces, the
United Nations refugee agency is investigating reports today that the number of
Congolese encamped in and around its transit sites in neighbouring Burundi has swelled
to 17,000.
As of last week, there were some 3,000 Congolese who had recently fled to Burundi,
according to the agency. Most of the new refugees are occupying 25 hangars at the
Rugomobo transit camp, managed by UNHCR's German partner, GTZ, while centres in
Gatumba and Cibitoke each house about 1,500.
A second transit centre on a 10-hectare site in Cibitoke could host more than 20,000
people when preparations are completed, UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told the
press in Geneva today.
Ethnic Bafulero and Babembe have been running out of DRC, mainly empty-handed, because
of a fear of attacks by militias comprising Banyamulenge, or Congolese Tutsi, fighters
or because they have been trying to avoid the fighting between the Banyamulenge and
Government forces.
Relevant Links
Central Africa
Congo-Kinshasa
Refugees and Displacement
Burundi
Some Banyamulenge have been fleeing Uvira province fearing that they could face
revenge attacks similar to those that occurred around Bukavu, south of Uvira, after
Tutsi insurgents started fighting in late May and briefly seized Bukavu on 2 June,
UNHCR said.
Due to the flood of refugees, the agency might begin to move some people to Songore
camp in northern Ngozi Province and Basorwe in northern Muyinga Province this weekend,
Ms. Pagonis reported.
--------------------------------------------
This service is hosted on the Infocom network
http://www.infocom.co.ug
