Tanzania : Nduta camp forcibly emptyed, Burundian refugees expelled amid violence and silence

SOS Médias Burundi

Kigoma, April 27, 2026 — In the Nduta camp, located in the Kigoma region of northwestern Tanzania, thousands of Burundian refugees are denouncing forced expulsions carried out under brutal conditions. Beatings, threats, shoving, and a lack of humanitarian assistance : according to several testimonies, everything is contributing to forcing the refugees to return to Burundi, in violation of their rights and in a climate of impunity that is alarming human rights defenders.

The Nduta camp, which still housed tens of thousands of refugees just a few weeks ago, is on the verge of being completely emptied. According to information gathered on site, its closure will take place in the coming days, in accordance with a decision by the Tanzanian authorities.

Since last Friday, more than 5,000 Burundian refugees have reportedly been forcibly repatriated. Several sources report convoys of more than 80 buses, each carrying around fifty people.

“They forced us to get on. Those who resisted were beaten,” says a source on the ground.

The repatriated people were taken to various locations in Burundi, including Makamba, Mabanda, Nyanza-Lac (south), and Mishiha, in the east of the country.

Approximately 15,000 refugees are still believed to be in a transit center set up on the site of the camp, which has been largely dismantled since January. Living conditions there are described as extremely precarious.

“We have no more food, no more medical care. No humanitarian workers are visible. We have been abandoned,” testifies a refugee contacted in recent days, who says he was forced to return home the very next day with his family.

According to the same testimony, the repatriation operations are taking place in a climate of violence : “The police and civilian guards were forcibly pushing us onto the buses. A pregnant woman lost her baby in the crush. She wasn’t even taken to the hospital and was sent back to Burundi.”

Figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) indicate that approximately 14,450 refugees remain in Nduta, compared to more than 45,000 two weeks ago, a sign of a sharp increase in departures.

The Nyarugusu camp, also located in the Kigoma region, is still home to more than 22,000 Burundian refugees, a figure that has also decreased significantly.

Officially, the Nduta and Nyarugusu camps are scheduled to close on April 30 and July 31, 2026, respectively.

Organizations warn : “A serious violation of international law”

Faced with this situation, nearly thirty Burundian, regional, and international civil society organizations are sounding the alarm.

In a press release, they denounce a “serious and immediate risk” of forced repatriations, in violation of the principle of non-refoulement enshrined in the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

“These returns are part of a series of targeted violations aimed at forcing Burundian refugees to leave the country,” they write.

The organizations also report coercive practices : some refugees are allegedly being taken by Wanamugambo—described as a youth militia affiliated with the ruling party in Tanzania—to transit centers, where they are forced, under pressure, to provide their fingerprints.

Given the gravity of the reported incidents, they call on :

The Tanzanian authorities to immediately end forced repatriations and respect their international obligations;

The UNHCR to urgently strengthen its presence and protection mechanisms;

The international community to mobilize to prevent an escalation of human rights violations and avert a major humanitarian crisis, particularly in the pre-electoral context in Burundi.

According to the most recent UNHCR data, Tanzania is still hosting just over 36,600 Burundian refugees.