War in eastern Congo: Thousands seek refuge in Burundi

Burundi has been facing a massive influx of refugees as families flee fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

"Just in the first two weeks, we have received 42,000 people already seeking asylum," said Brigitte Mukanya-Eno, a representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Burundi. She said the agency had been working with a contingency plan "targeting about 58,000 people who could cross" over three months.

The majority of Congolese who have fled recently come from the province of South Kivu, which borders Burundi and where fighters for the 23 March Movement (M23) continue to expand their zone of occupation. 

After capturing the city of Goma, the M23 took control of Kavumu airport and Bukavu, also now seizing the town of Kamanyola.

Shabani, Mathilda and Marcelo belong to a group of Congolese refugees who have arrived in a working-class neighborhood of the Burundian capital, Bujumbura. They are currently living with families who took them in. 

"We have neither food nor water. We do not even have wells to draw water. May the Burundian government help us because we are really afraid to go home," Shabani tells DW.

And Marcelo adds: "Since we have families here, they should allow us to live with our families until the war is over and see how we can get home."

But with the situation in the DRC deteriorating each day, it seems unlikely the refugees can return home in the near future. 

Thousands stream into Burundi

The unchecked advance of the Rwandan-backed M23 is stoking fears of a regional conflagration. Local media reports say Burundi's army has accelerated the extraction of its soldiers deployed on the Rusizi plain in the DRC.

Since October 2023, Burundi has sent more than 10,000 soldiers to help the Congolese army fight the M23 and other armed groups.

With the influx of refugees from Congo also "a small number of Burundian nationals have returned to their country, fleeing the clashes," says Matthey Saltmarsh, a UNHCR spokesperson.

People are mainly arriving at the Gatumba border post, close to the capital Bujumbura, he adds.

Some of these refugees are seeking asylum in Burundi to legalize their stay. Others prefer to rent houses, pay for hotels or stay with host families. But the Burundian government is unwilling to accept this.

Security risks and fear of infiltration

Government authorities have been monitoring the refugee groups. In a signed statement, Martin Niteretse, Burundi's Minister of Home Affairs, Public Security and Community Development, said:

"Burundi has decided to gather them in Gihanga and Cibitoke to verify personal identities, to separate civilians from possible military, the sick from the healthy, the children from the adults, so that we can help them."

Vianney Ndayisaba, a civil society member, tells DW the government should be vigilant in receiving Congolese refugees to ensure their safety while protecting the Burundian population: "We agree with the reception of refugees. But the urgency is to create a place for shelter, that they do not rent houses. They should be registered as refugees to guarantee them security, that is necessary."

Like Ndayisaba, many Burundians fear rebels from the east of the DRC could now infiltrate Burundi.

The Burundian president, Evariste Ndayishimiye, expressed his concern of a regional war if urgent measures were not taken to end the escalation of hostilities in the eastern DRC.

M23 rebels advancing further

North of Bujumbura, Buterere is one of the most densely populated districts of Burundi's economic capital where UN agencies and the central administration are concentrated.

Marthe is a 42-year-old woman from Bukavu, around 150 kilometers away across the border in the DRC. A widow, Marthe and her children have been staying with a host family near Bujumbura for a week. She seems traumatized by the war in Bukavu.

"We fled insecurity, war, lots of gunfire. I had nine children, but we split up. I arrived with only six children. We have no money, we left everything behind," she tells DW.

Physically exhausted, Marthe and her children are anxious. With no legal documents, they spent the last night in a prayer room, a way of escaping police raids of irregular refugees.

Sarah Kumi is the head of the family hosting Marthe and her children. A bilingual teacher, Sarah speaks French and Lingala. But Marthe, nicknamed Mamy, and her children speak only Swahili.

"Mamy is unable to speak French, how do you communicate? But my sister speaks French, Kirundi and Swahili. But when she is not here, she explains herself with gestures, but she is adapting," says Sara Kumi.

Mamy and her children sleep in a cramped living room and barely eat. These difficult living conditions have prompted Mamy to apply for asylum to legalize her situation and move to refugee sites.

But with number of Congolese refugees in Bujumbura steadily increasing, humanitarian aid organizations are struggling to keep pace.

Bintou Keita is the head of MONUSCO, the UN's peacekeeping mission to the DRC. She expressed concern to the UN Security Council over the M23's advance, which is approaching the junction of the three borders between DRC, Rwanda and Burundi. 

UN officials told the UN Security Council that warring parties must return to the negotiation table and seriously work towards peace. 

 

Martina Schwikowski contributed to this article.