The aid response in Burundi to the crisis in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) “is literally buckling”, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, warned on Friday, as it relayed dramatic testimonies from people forced to flee the unchecked advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.
“Over 63,000 people now have crossed into the country, Burundi, fleeing atrocities, deadly conflict in parts of eastern DR Congo,” said Faith Kasina, UNHCR Regional Spokesperson for East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes.
Amid the largest influx of refugees Burundi has seen in decades because of the hostilities in eastern DRC’s mineral-rich region, the UNHCR official issued an urgent appeal for immediate and sustained humanitarian funding to meet growing needs among the new arrivals. “This country, despite its best efforts, was not prepared for this emergency,” Ms. Kasina noted.
The alert comes just days since UNCHR warned that sexual violence and human rights abuses remain rampant near the frontlines in DRC, along with looting and destruction of homes and businesses.
To assist the new arrivals, UNCHR and partners are registering them in Rugombo before facilitating their onward passage to refugee sites far from the border. “But without more or without sustained funding, this - I mean - the aid response is literally buckling,” she warned.
At least 45,000 refugees have crammed into a stadium in Rugombo. “Conditions are extremely harsh…there are at least 45,000 people still sheltering in the stadium. The stadium is literally bursting at the seams.”
Testimonies from many of those fleeing grave rights violations in eastern DRC linked to the M23 advance have continued to highlight the seriousness of the ongoing emergency.
On 4 March, UNHCR warned that 895 cases of rape were reported to humanitarian actors in the last two weeks of February alone - an average of more than 60 a day.
One new mother “told me she gave birth three days before she had to flee and she had to cross the Rusizi river with her newborn baby in her arms and four more by her side,” Ms. Kasina said. “She was seeing people’s property and people's luggage sort of go down the river and she was scared for her life.”
Another DRC victim uprooted by the conflict described how she had already fled to Rugombo in Burundi as a teenager – “Now she's forced back in the exact - almost exact - same spot now with six children…it's just as an unending cycle of displacement.”
Highlighting the high number of children separated from their parents, UNHCR has set up a protection desk because “they have no point of contact and therefore these protection desks are useful in terms of trying to identify them, trying to connect them or reunite them with close family members”, the UNHCR official explained.
There are over one million Congolese refugees across Africa, mainly in neighbouring countries. Uganda hosts more than half of that total, while Burundi has seen most new arrivals since January’s flash M23 offensive. Prior to the current crisis, some 6.7 million people were internally displaced within the DRC.
ends
STORY: DR Congo update - UNHCR
TRT: 02:44”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 7 March 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1
1
1
Edited News
Syria prison survivor seeks justice for the missing with UN backing.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned that three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for Ukrainian civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals, and shelters.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , ICRC
Quadcopter victims, terror and death: 30 minutes in a Gaza hospital
UN aid teams on Friday highlighted the disturbing situation in Gaza’s makeshift hospitals, where premature babies cry for scant oxygen and medics attempt to save child survivors targeted by airstrikes in their tents and quadcopter victims reportedly shot while fetching bread.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday delivered his oral update to the UN Human Rights Council’s 60th session on the human rights situation in Haiti.
The High Commissioner welcomed Wednesday’s decision of the UN Security Council to strengthen the Multinational Security Support mission by transitioning to the Gang Suppression Force for Haiti, stating it is a strong signal of international support for the Haitian people.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Gaza: As world waits for US peace plan news, UN aid teams stress need for ceasefire
UN agencies reiterated calls for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday to help alleviate Palestinian suffering, as a new US 20-point plan raised hopes of a halt to the fighting.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
The ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza City continues to overwhelm the war-torn enclave’s medical professionals, with four more hospitals forced to shut down this month alone, the UN World Health Organization said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A UN Human Rights report released today details the dire situation of thousands of civilians detained since Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine in 2022.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Sudan war: Life-saving cholera vaccination campaign begins in Darfur
Amid the devastating war in Sudan, UN aid teams are overcoming major obstacles to curb a cholera outbreak claiming lives across the country, with young children particularly at risk.
2
1
2
Edited News , B-roll | UN WOMEN
Women and girls still reeling from Afghanistan's recent deadly earthquake face even greater suffering rebuilding their lives and livelihoods without much more help from the international community, UN Women said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Rising civilian casualties, growing ethnic violence and the grim humanitarian situation in Sudan underscore how the crisis there is deepening, according to a UN Human rights report published today.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNITED NATIONS
United Nations agencies staff demonstrates on Place des Nations in Geneva to denounce the killing of their colleagues in Gaza.
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO
The world’s water resources face growing pressure from climate change while emergencies related to the vital resource are increasingly impacting lives and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.