Thousands of Congolese flee to Burundi

A new wave of at least 8,500 Congolese refugees has arrived in Burundi following renewed fighting in South Kivu Province in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UNHCR reported on Tuesday. The latest conflict erupted on 26 December between the Mayi-Mayi traditional militia and the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Goma (RCD-Goma) in rural areas of South Kivu. By 31 December, the fighting had engulfed the strategic town of Uvira on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, sending thousands of refugees across the border, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported. It added that since 26 December, UNHCR in Burundi had registered 7,386 refugees at a transit site in Rugombo in Cibitoke Province, and 1,200 at another site in Gatumba, Bujumbura Rural. Wartorn Burundi already shelters at least 12,000 Congolese refugees who had fled an outbreak of hostilities between the two rebel groups in October 2002, UNHCR said. The latest fighting in South Kivu comes nearly three weeks after the signing of a power-sharing deal between the Kinshasa government, the main rebel groups and the DRC's political opposition to end the four-year war and pave the way for elections in two years. "There are growing concerns that RCD-Goma, which controls much of the Kivu region and various border crossings in South Kivu, is preventing people from leaving the strife-torn area to neighbouring Burundi," UNHCR reported. It added that Congolese refugees who had crossed the border had reported that the rebels were allowing only possessors of travel documents to leave South Kivu. Most of those fleeing to Burundi, the agency said, did not have such documents. They were therefore being "forced to cross the Rusizi river - which separates eastern DRC from Burundi - before dawn, when the checkpoints are unmanned". Many refugees, it said, started crossing the river border at about 4 a.m., then sneaked through the bush along the shores of Lake Tanganyika and arrived in safer areas of Burundi by early morning, exhausted from the three-hour journey. UNHCR said the waters of the river were rising steadily due to rains, "raising concerns for the safety of those trying to cross". It said that Burundian military personnel had been registering the new arrivals. They then escorted the refugees through the Rusizi National Park to the temporary site at Gatumba. UNHCR said recent arrivals included some 40 fishermen who had fled with their fishing boats and equipment. "They have asked to be allowed to remain among local fishermen along the shores of the lake," it added. Meanwhile, UNHCR said it had been compelled to transfer Congolese refugees displaced by October's conflicts from border sites in Rugombo and Gatumba to safer inland camps in Cishemeye in Cibitoke Province, and Gasorwe in Muyinga Province. So far, the agency reported, it had moved 3,013 refugees to Cishemeye and 2,373 to Gasorwe. At least 6,500 others remained at the two temporary sites, awaiting relocation to the camps. "The latest influx of refugees from South Kivu will delay the expected closure of the border sites," UNHCR said.