Rumonge : 80 people arrested during a search operation in the Kanyenkoko neighborhood

SOS Médias Burundi

Rumonge, December 25, 2025 – A total of 80 people, including 19 Burundians, were arrested on Wednesday in the Kanyenkoko neighborhood of the port city of Rumonge, in southwestern Burundi, in Burunga province. These arrests took place during a search operation conducted by security forces.

According to residents of the neighborhood, the operation began in the early hours of the morning. At 4:00 a.m., heavily armed soldiers, police officers, agents of the National Intelligence Service (SNR), and Imbonerakure, members of the youth wing of the CNDD-FDD, the ruling party, surrounded the neighborhood to prevent anyone from entering or leaving. Starting at 6:00 a.m., police conducted a systematic search, going house by house and street by street.

Administrative and police sources indicate that this operation primarily targeted Congolese refugees and individuals without legal documents. Among those apprehended were 19 Burundians without national identity cards. After being identified at the Rumonge police station, they were issued administrative fines.

The other individuals arrested were reportedly mostly Congolese nationals who had allegedly been hiding among the local population. These individuals are expected to be identified by the relevant authorities before being transferred to refugee camps.

This operation is part of a broader context of tightened security measures in response to the massive influx of Congolese refugees. The Burundian Ministry of the Interior and Public Security recently prohibited owners of houses, hotels, and guesthouses from renting or hosting Congolese refugees, citing security concerns. This ban also extends to families, relatives, friends, and acquaintances, under penalty of administrative sanctions for Burundian citizens who violate it.

This decision is strongly contested by several Congolese refugees, who are calling on the Burundian authorities to reverse this measure. They believe that people with financial means should be allowed to rent temporary accommodation while awaiting the reopening of land borders and the return of calm to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, without being systematically directed to camps or assembly points.

In December alone, local authorities in Rumonge reported receiving more than 25,000 Congolese refugees, who arrived mainly from South Kivu via Lake Tanganyika. Nationally, Burundi received nearly 90,000 Congolese refugees during the same period. Witnesses and local actors are raising the alarm about precarious living conditions in several reception centers, where many refugees lack decent housing, drinking water, and basic assistance, in conditions that fall short of minimum humanitarian standards.