UN-assisted refugee returns to Burundi hits 300,000 mark

The number of Burundians that have returned to their homeland from neighbouring Tanzania with the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reached the 300,000 mark last month, the agency reported today.

In addition, tens of thousands of Burundian refugees have also returned home on their own – mainly from villages in the north-western Tanzania – bringing the total number of returnees to 389,000.

In the early 1990s, nearly half a million Burundians fled violence in their country and found shelter in Tanzania. UNHCR’s repatriation operation for Burundian refugees in Tanzania began in 2002.

“The 300,000 mark is a significant milestone in our efforts to find lasting solutions for long-term refugee situations on the African continent,” UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told reporters in Geneva.

The agency gives cash grants to assist the returnees once they are back in Burundi, and together with the World Food Programme (WFP) provides six months worth of food rations.

UNHCR reports that the refugee population in the camps in north-western Tanzania in March fell below the 200,000 mark for the first time in 15 years. As more and more Burundians leave Tanzania, UNHCR is working with the Tanzanian authorities to consolidate the remaining refugee camps. There are currently 102,000 Burundian and 96,000 Congolese refugees remain in five camps in north-western Tanzania.

In addition, UNHCR, in partnership with the Tanzanians, is working to resolve the situation of 218,000 Burundians refugees who fled their country in 1972 and live in three self-sufficient settlements, and for 2,000 Somali Bantus living in Chogo Settlement in Tanga Region.