Situation in Rutana province “volatile”

A humanitarian assessment mission has visited the province of Rutana in the southeast following a wave of fighting between the army and rebels last month in three of its communes - Gitanga, Rutana and Musongati. A report issued by UNOCHA-Burundi noted that 1,500 families had been displaced in Gitanga and 1,187 in Rutana. Musongati was still affected by fighting and a final estimate had not been made. The report pointed out that the situation remains extremely volatile and the population of a displaced persons’ site at Ngoma in Musongati fluctuated according to the level of fighting. The report warned that population displacement due to fighting - particularly in the heavily war-affected southern provinces of Rutana, Makamba and Ruyigi - could turn into a “chronic issue”.