Nduta (Tanzania) : MSF accuses authorities of forced repatriations and serious violations of the rights of Burundian refugees

SOS Médias Burundi

Kigoma, January 29, 2026 – Doctors Without Borders (MSF), an NGO active in the health sector in refugee camps in Tanzania, is raising the alarm about what it describes as serious violations of the fundamental rights of Burundian refugees in the Nduta and Nyarugusu camps, located in the Kigoma region of northwestern Tanzania. In its latest report, the organization emphasizes that the demolition of homes has also led to a worrying increase in violence against minors.

MSF officially condemned the destruction of Burundian refugee camps in Tanzania on Wednesday. In a public statement, the NGO denounces a violation of international law and the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Protection of Refugees and Asylum Seekers.

“This situation could lead to legal proceedings, in addition to fundamentally violating all the rights of refugees. The UNHCR should alert the relevant authorities and raise the alarm about the violation of the rights of the people it is supposed to protect,” the statement says.

MSF, which provides healthcare in the camps, is also concerned about the destruction of health posts. “This is regrettable and reprehensible. A health post must always be protected, even in times of war. And we need them all the more to deal with the diseases related to this situation,” the document states.

Furthermore, cases of sexual violence have increased following these measures taken by the Tanzanian authorities.

“The January report shows that cases of sexual violence have tripled, and what is alarming is that 80% of the victims are children under 15,” MSF warns.

Investigations conducted by the NGO reveal that “this sexual violence is being committed in and around the destroyed areas.”

MSF also reports a significant increase in cold-related illnesses, particularly pneumonia, in hospitals.

The organization recommends that Burundian refugees in the Nduta and Nyarugusu camps “not wait for the worst and register to return home in order to protect their children.”

This statement comes as the demolition of the camps has intensified since the beginning of this week.

Makeshift tents, hastily erected by refugees on the rubble of their former homes, are being set on fire.

“These tents and huts protected us from the cold and rain while we waited for convoys to be organized to involuntarily return us to our homeland. At this rate, we will die before we are even forcibly repatriated by the government that should be protecting us,” say refugees whose shelters were burned.

The destruction of Burundian refugee camps in Tanzania began at the start of this year.

Refugees tried to contact the UNHCR, but staff reportedly told them they had to comply with the decisions of the Tanzanian authorities.

The UN agency had indicated that it was “not at all satisfied with the handling of repatriations” and had recommended that Tanzania suspend the demolitions—a call that went unheeded.

Last week, the UNHCR in Tanzania warned that it risked being overwhelmed by the influx of refugees being repatriated, whether voluntarily or forcibly.

Tanzania is still hosting more than 110,000 Burundian refugees, the majority of whom fled the 2015 political crisis triggered by the controversial third term of the late President Pierre Nkurunziza.