By Eloge Willy Kaneza
More than 88,000 Congolese refugees have fled to Burundi since early December following renewed violence in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, in eastern Congo, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). These arrivals add to over 70,000 refugees who came earlier this year after M23 rebels seized the capitals of North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, in eastern Congo.
Many refugees crossed the Rusizi River, which separates Burundi and DRC, facing harsh conditions with limited access to food, clean water, sanitation, and medical care.
Overcrowded camps and dire health risks
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reports that camps are saturated, with families sharing tents on muddy grounds. Around 37,000 refugees have arrived in Ndava camp in the northwestern region of Cibitoke, where mobile clinics treat an average of 200 patients daily. Complicated cases are referred to Cibitoke District Hospital. MSF provides 25,000 liters of water per day and is constructing latrines and showers to reduce the risk of disease.
Health risks are severe. MSF reports 14 confirmed cases of cholera, one suspected case of measles, and malaria tests with a 42% positivity rate among arrivals. More than 30 refugees, including children, have died from cholera in four transit sites in southwestern, northwestern, western, and in a long-term camp in eastern Burundi, confirmed medical and humanitarian sources to Amjambo Africa. Support for sexual and reproductive health and care for survivors of sexual violence remain urgent needs.
In Busuma camp in eastern Burundi, local reporters told Amjambo Africa that over 45,000 refugees are left without any assistance. Images show children in front of thatched shelters and women trying to share the little food available.
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“There is not even water to wash our hands. Some children have died due to these conditions. Even those who were transferred to camps face the same hardships,” said Pascaline Mukena, a mother in a transit camp near the border.
In Rumonge, near the port beside Lake Tanganyika, refugees are received in open stadiums or near the port with almost no support. While the Catholic Church has provided some aid, Augustin Minani, the local administrative representative, called it ‘a drop in the ocean.’ He noted that there are no transportation options for relocating refugees to long-term camps and urged banks, businesses, and independent organizations to intervene.
“We are taking care of ourselves; no one is helping us. It feels like we are prisoners,” said Joseph Matenga, a resident of Ndava camp in Cibitoke.
Government restrictions and transit challenges
The Burundian government closed its land border with DRC on 10 December, hours after M23 captured Uvira, the last major city in South Kivu resisting rebel control. In a transit camp in Gatumba near the border, clashes between police and refugees attempting to return to DRC left 12 injured and one dead.
On 17 December, the Ministry of Interior and Security issued a statement prohibiting landlords from renting to Congolese refugees and requiring anyone hosting refugees to report them for relocation to official camps in southeastern and eastern Burundi.
“You cannot tell everyone to go into refugee camps. Those who can rent homes should be allowed,” said Emmanuel Rukumbi, using a pseudonym for fear of reprisals.
Political and regional context
Refugees fled violence as M23 rebels clashed with FARDC, supported by Burundian troops and Wazalendo militias, backed by Congolese authorities. Among those hosted in Burundi are militia members and Congolese soldiers who fled after defeat.
M23, largely composed of Congolese Tutsi, controls strategic areas including Masisi territory in North Kivu, home to the Rubaya site, one of the largest producers of coltan in the world — a mineral from which tantalum is extracted, used in electronics like smartphones, computers, medical devices, and aerospace technology. United Nations estimates suggest Rubaya accounts for about 15 % or more of the global tantalum supply. The movement is integrated into the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), led by Corneille Nangaa, former president of the Independent Electoral Commission, advocating for a federal DRC.
The M23 is allegedly supported by Rwanda, while the DRC and Burundi are accused of backing the FDLR, a Hutu Rwandan armed group implicated in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. UN experts, dismissed by Kigali as “impostors,” recently claimed that Rwanda deployed between 5,000 and 7,000 soldiers to support M23.
Despite the Washington-brokered peace agreement signed on 4 December between Rwanda and DRC, hostilities continue.
Humanitarian needs and urgent response
Jean-Jacques Purusi, governor of South Kivu, who fled to Bujumbura, visited refugees on 22 December and urged them to wait until the situation stabilizes.
Agencies coordinated by the UN estimate $33.2 million is required to fund emergency plans providing life-saving care, shelter, and essential resources.
“Immediate humanitarian support is crucial. Vulnerable populations – including children and mothers – are at high risk of disease and malnutrition,” said UN humanitarian sources.
