Turned back and stranded at the border : the ordeal of Congolese refugees facing the Imbonerakure and the police

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, September 9, 2025 – Since Monday, September 8, 2025, several hundred Congolese refugees have been arrested in various localities in the districts of Cibitoke and Bukinanyana, in Bujumbura province, which borders Congo. Expelled to the Gatumba border, they remain stranded there under the sun and in precarious conditions. These operations, carried out by the police and the Imbonerakure, members of the youth league of the CNDD-FDD (Burundi’s ruling party), are taking place in a tense context linked to the activities of the M23 in the DRC and the deployment of 10,000 Burundian soldiers in eastern Congo. With more than 90,000 Congolese refugees already present in Burundi, the humanitarian crisis is worsening, amplified by the reduction in international aid.

Early on the morning of Monday, September 8, police from Bujumbura, supported by the Cibitoke police station and the Imbonerakure, launched a major operation in the districts of Bukinanyana and Cibitoke. The stated objective : identifying and regrouping Congolese refugees who had settled since February 15 in the villages and neighborhoods close to the DRC, particularly in Gasenyi-Buganda, Rubuye, and Nyakagunda (formerly Mparambo I).

According to reported figures, 80 refugees were arrested in Gasenyi-Buganda as of Monday, and 72 in Rukana. On Tuesday, September 9, the operation intensified : a total of 426 Congolese were arrested on various streets, including eight in the “Swahili” neighborhood of Rugombo-centre, bringing the total number to 578.

Forced refugees : official camp or forced return

During these two days, residents of the affected areas were strictly confined to their homes : no movement was permitted, and police vehicles remained stationary. The police explained to the arrested refugees that they had to either go to an official camp or be transferred to Gatumba, from where they would be deported to Uvira, in the DRC.

A Congolese refugee testified :

“We were forcibly taken away even though we weren’t doing anything wrong. We were living peacefully among the Burundians. We refuse to go to the camp because the living conditions there are very poor. If we’re expelled, we might as well go straight back to Congo.”

Security suspicions behind the decision

For the police authorities, this operation responded to security concerns :

“The behavior of these Congolese people worries us. Some seem to receive greater external support than the Burundian residents.” “We suspect links with the M23 movement. That’s why we decided to send them back home,” explained a police official, speaking anonymously.

Border blockade and climate of fear

The expulsions did not go as planned. On Monday, groups arrested in Buganda and Rukana could not be transported to Uvira, as the security situation there was deemed too unstable. These refugees were then gathered in the Gatumba compound. But on Tuesday, their passage to the DRC was blocked by the Wazalendo, a Congolese armed movement opposed to their return.

As a result, several hundred refugees remain stranded in Gatumba, in precarious conditions, without sufficient food, and fearing an uncertain fate.

A representative of Congolese refugees in Burundi denounced :

“These people are refugees. They are Congolese who fled Kamanyola. They are neither Rwandans nor Burundians, much less enemies. We ask the Wazalendo to let them pass,” adding that women and children spent the night under the beautiful canvas, at the mercy of mosquitoes and the sun.

A UNHCR spokesperson in Burundi was not available for comment.

Security situation in Uvira and the region

In Uvira, the situation remains tense : Wazalendo militias, supported by Kinshasa, are opposing General Olivier Gasita, a member of the Banyamulenge community, recently appointed deputy commander of the 33rd Military Region on September 1. The militias accuse him, in particular, of being in the pay of Rwanda. This opposition has paralyzed the city, with some sections of the civil society and militiamen triggering a general strike affecting all sectors.

The M23, which now controls the provincial capitals of North and South Kivu, as well as several strategic mineral-rich areas and Kamanyola (the source of the repatriated refugees), is suspected of being supported by Rwanda, a claim that the country denies.

Burundi has deployed approximately 10,000 troops to eastern DRC to fight alongside the Congolese loyalist army and allied militias in the war against the M23. According to SOS Médias Burundi sources, at least five people were killed in clashes with the army on Monday in Uvira.