US EditionCongolese refugees return from Burundi to take advantage of improved security
The UNHCR said the repatriation will run for weeks, with at least two bus convoys a week for refugees returning home.
- On Thursday, a representative of the Congolese Embassy in Burundi oversaw the repatriation of 470 refugees from the Busuma camp to their homes in eastern Congo, following the withdrawal of Rwandan-backed rebels from Uvira.
- Refugees fled violence in and around Uvira nearly four months ago, seeking shelter in the Busuma camp after M23 rebels seized areas in South Kivu before later withdrawing under international pressure.
- "I am happy, very joyful," said returnee Hassan Masemo, grateful to Burundian authorities for reopening the border. This group is part of at least 33,000 Congolese who have returned home as of March.
- High Commissioner for Refugees representative Brigitte Mukanga-Eno said the operation will continue for weeks with at least two bus convoys weekly, though only for refugees "going straight to their homes" where conditions are safe.
- Congo's mineral-rich east has been scourged by decades of unrest as government forces fight more than 100 armed groups, with M23 the most potent. U.N. experts have reported evidence of Rwandan troops alongside the rebels.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Burundi starts voluntary repatriation of DR Congo refugees
The Burundian government, in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, announced earlier this week a voluntary repatriation program for thousands of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo currently living in Burundi.
DRC: voluntary repatriation of a first group of 462 Congolese refugees from Burundi by UNHCR Image media PMaki Fri 24/04/2026 - 13:05 Corps Nearly three months after the withdrawal of the AFC/M23 rebellion, supported by Rwanda and the return of government authorities to the city of Uvira, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Burundi, in collaboration with the guve
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