Uvira: another more than 300 Burundians find refuge in DRC

A group of Burundians settled in the Sange transit camp, in the territory of Uvira in the province of South Kivu (eastern DRC) few days after they left the provinces of Cibitoke and Bubanza (north-west of Burundi). INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The Burundians were driven from their land by their government, they say.

“Our government has confiscated our land. We can no longer access our fields. All that was left for us was to flee”, said a group member, to SOS Médias Burundi.

The land mentioned is located in Mabayi, Nyarure, Rugombo, Mbazamiduha in Cibitoke province and Kibira -Rukoko in Bubanza province.

A person in charge of the transit camp in Sange indicates that almost all the new Burundian asylum seekers converge on one fact: “spoliation of their land”.

Contacted the governor of Cibitoke denies the allegations. Carême Bizoza reports that the government has taken back its lands. He gives the examples of the lands of Nyarure and Mbazamiduha.

In Bubanza, the governor speaks of a military training place.

But Burundian asylum seekers “cry out the violation of our rights”.

Over these recent years, Burundians fled to DRC mostly due to famine and political reasons but this is the first that the vast central african country welcomes such a big number of Burundian nationals over land spoliation.