Congolese refugees queues for a meal in one of the transit camps in Gatumba on December 18th.2025. PHOTO| Burundi Times
The U.N. refugee agency has appealed for $33 million in emergency funding to support tens of thousands of Congolese refugees who have fled renewed fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, even as the M23 rebel group announced a withdrawal from the strategic border city of Uvira.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative to Burundi said the funds are urgently needed to cover the next four months of humanitarian assistance as the number of new arrivals from Congo has climbed to about 76,000 since December 2025, driven largely by violence in South Kivu province.
“The scale and speed of this influx are placing enormous pressure on our capacity to respond,” the UNHCR official said, warning that without immediate donor support, essential services such as shelter, food, clean water and health care could be severely disrupted.
Most of the refugees have crossed into Burundi through informal border points near Lake Tanganyika, often arriving with few possessions after fleeing heavy fighting around Uvira and surrounding areas. UNHCR says women and children make up the majority of the new arrivals, many of whom are in urgent need of protection and medical care.
The funding appeal comes as the M23 armed group, which has expanded its territorial control in eastern Congo in recent months, announced it would withdraw its fighters from Uvira, a key commercial and transport hub near the Burundian border. The group described the move as a confidence-building measure aimed at supporting regional peace efforts.
However, humanitarian officials caution that the security situation remains volatile and that displacement is likely to continue despite the announcement. Previous ceasefires and withdrawals in eastern Congo have often been fragile or short-lived.
The fighting has intensified one of Africa’s most protracted humanitarian crises, with millions already displaced inside Congo and neighboring countries struggling to cope with repeated refugee inflows.
UNHCR said the requested $33 million would help scale up emergency shelters, food assistance, water and sanitation services, and protection programs for refugees and host communities, which are also facing mounting economic pressure.
“The international community must act now,” the agency said, “to prevent a further deterioration of humanitarian conditions and to ensure refugees can find safety and dignity.”
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