53 Congolese Refugees Die in Burundi as Cross-Border Influx Overwhelms Sites

The U.N. Refugee Agency confirmed on Jan. 10 that 53 Congolese refugees who fled renewed fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have died in neighbouring Burundi since the flows began in early December. The agency said 25 deaths were attributed to a cholera outbreak and six were linked to anemia and other complications related to malnutrition; it is working with Burundi’s health ministry and partners to investigate the causes of the remaining fatalities.

The fatalities came as tens of thousands of people streamed across the border following intensified fighting in South Kivu province after rebels seized the border town of Uvira in early December. Some reports identify the armed group involved as the M23 rebel movement. Rapidly changing movements and differing methods of counting have produced divergent tallies: several agency statements put new arrivals in Burundi since early December at more than 100,000, while other U.N. summaries cite over 84,000 arrivals and suggest the total Congolese refugee and asylum-seeker population in Burundi has climbed to more than 200,000. Officials caution these figures are provisional and subject to revision as registrations continue.

Humanitarian conditions at reception sites in eastern Burundi have deteriorated sharply. The government has designated a new site at Bweru in Ruyigi (Buhumuza) province to relieve overcrowding, but aid agencies report conditions there are extremely dire. Thousands of families are sleeping in the open for lack of tents, leaving them exposed to cold nighttime temperatures in the high-altitude area and to persistent rains that exacerbate the risk of disease.

Health teams responding to the emergency report an escalating cholera threat. The World Health Organization has been involved in the cholera response, and public health teams are racing to deliver clean water, sanitation and medical supplies. UNHCR has issued an urgent appeal for more shelters, latrines, safe water, food and medical stocks to prevent further outbreaks and to treat malnutrition.

Kinshasa has dispatched a humanitarian mission to assist its nationals in Burundi, delivering food, medicines and non-food items, and coordinating with international partners. UNHCR said it is coordinating with Burundi’s health ministry and other actors to investigate the non-cholera and non-malnutrition deaths and to scale up life-saving assistance. A spokesperson for Burundi’s National Office of Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons did not respond to calls or a texted request for comment.

Local officials in the DRC voiced alarm at the scale of suffering. Jean-Jacques Purusi, governor of South Kivu province, described the situation in Burundi as “misery” and “a crisis completely forgotten by the international community and media,” reflecting anxieties in eastern Congo about insufficient attention and resources.

The crisis highlights brittle regional capacities to absorb large mixed movements and the international community’s obligations to protect people fleeing violence. Humanitarian responders warn that without rapid donor support and strengthened cross-border coordination, the immediate threats from disease, exposure and malnutrition could widen, compounding an already fragile humanitarian environment in the Great Lakes region. Agency coordination and ongoing investigations into the outstanding deaths are expected to shape the next phase of the response as registration and aid delivery continue.