Regroupment “short-term solution”

Refugees International (RI) has said the Burundian government’s regroupment policy is a “short-term extreme solution” to the rebel insurgency and has not led to more control. “It has put enormous pressure on the moderate centre in Burundi and caused many people to flee their country for the refuge of Tanzania. It has also forced many young men into the arms of the rebels,” RI said in a news bulletin. It warned of precarious health conditions in the camps and said malnutrition was on the rise. “The [regrouped] population risks becoming a permanent ward of the international community unless full access to fields is permitted at once,” the report added, saying that in many camps people were allowed access to their fields for only half a day per week. “Although access to the regroupment camps is significantly improved, relief agencies are still struggling to provide the basics for life,” it said.