Ruptly
"The first convoy of Congolese refugees returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Thursday evening, marking the start of a major voluntary repatriation effort from eastern Burundi. Footage from the Gatumba–Kavimvira border post shows buses and UNHCR-chartered trucks arriving from Bujumbura. Officials, including the Governor of South Kivu Province, Jean Jacques Purusi, were seen at the border to welcome the returnees back to their homeland. "Now I am returning home. I feel very relieved, and I thank the NGOs for their involvement in helping us go back home," said Adolphe Ndimbo, one of the refugees. However, Ndimbo noted that the journey ahead remains difficult. "What we ask is for assistance with some basic items, because many have returned with nothing and do not know where they will sleep upon arrival," he added. Jean Bosco Nduwimana, the Coordinator for Burundi’s National Office for the Protection of Refugees (ONPRA), expressed optimism regarding the scale of the operation. "We believe that in the coming days, we will increase the numbers: about one thousand returnees per convoy, and we will operate two convoys per week," Nduwimana stated. "That amounts to two thousand per week." Brigitte Mukanga Eno, the UNHCR Representative in Burundi, emphasised that international support remains critical for those still in limbo. "UNHCR and all partners will do everything necessary to support this return movement," Eno said, calling on donors to continue assisting the thousands of refugees remaining in Burundi who still require international protection. Around 470 Congolese refugees arrived in the first voluntary return coordinated by the UNHCR in collaboration with the governments of both countries. Nearly 20,000 refugees have reportedly registered for the repatriation programme. The returnees had been living in Buhumuza’s Busuma camp, Burundi’s largest refugee site, which has sheltered 66,000 people since the fall of Uvira in December 2025. Clashes have continued in eastern DRC despite a ceasefire brokered by the United States and an accompanying economic agreement. Kinshasa has repeatedly accused Rwanda of backing the M23 rebel movement, an allegation Kigali denies. On March 2, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Rwandan Defence Force and four senior commanders, accusing them of violating the Washington Accords by continuing to support M23 operations, including the capture of the eastern Congolese city of Uvira in December."
Go to News Site