25 September 2007
Bujumbura — Congolese refugees who were not transferred to Musasa camp last week have been relocated to another place in the mayorship of Bujumbura. They are now stationed in Kigobe quarter in a place where an Olympic stadium will be built.
These refugees were living before on a football pitch nearby the offices of the UNHCR. The interior ministry indicated on the day of the transfer of Congolese refugees to Musasa that those who would not get the asylum permits would be relocated to another place. The decision of relocating these refugees was taken after pressure groups indicated that these Congolese were living in dire straits.
These Congolese who were relocated protest that they are still living in desperate conditions in this new place. Like the football pitch nearby the offices of UNHCR, this place lacks water and sanitation facilities.
These refugees fled raids carried out by the Mai-Mai and Interahamwe militiamen in the mountains of Minembwe in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The bulk of these refugees are of Bafulero and Banyamulunge ethnicities. They started flocking to Burundi in mid-July of this year. A considerable number of Congolese refugees are now in the refugees' camps of Mwaro and Gasorwe and Musasa.
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