Congolese refugees repatriated from Burundi

Hundreds of Congolese refugees living at the Busuma camp in Burundi have been voluntarily repatriated, reports africanews. At the Busuma camp in Burundi’s Buhumuza province, a voluntary repatriation operation for Congolese refugees got underway on Thursday. For many it’s a joyous occasion, as they look forward to going home. But not everyone is eligible for the reparation effort. The UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, which is organising the return, wants to make sure people don’t go back to an unsafe situation. ‘Because security conditions are not entirely optimal, only those who can return to secure areas will be able to leave, and only those who feel they can return,’ said Brigitte Mukanga-Eno, a UNHCR representative in Burundi. More than 8m people from eastern DRC have been displaced by the escalation in violence between government forces and M23 rebels. More than 1m are being hosted across Africa, according to the UN. Burundi alone hosts about 100 000 Congolese refugees.