More than 33,000 Congolese refugees have voluntarily returned from Burundi to South Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) within a month, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
UNHCR announced the development following the re-opening of the Burundi–DRC border on 23 February. Located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, the Kavimvira border post is a key commercial route linking Burundi’s economic capital, Bujumbura, with the Congolese city of Uvira.
Most returnees are crossing through the Kavimvira border point near Uvira in South Kivu Province after many had fled to Burundi in December 2025 amid fighting between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), along with its allies, and the AFC/M23 armed group.
The intense clashes forced thousands to flee Uvira into Burundi and the surrounding areas. Recent relative stability in Uvira, now under FARDC and Wazalendo control, has led to the border re-opening, prompting some refugees to return home.
The UN agency reports that around 30 percent of returnees had been living in Burundi’s Busuma refugee site.
It says funding shortfalls have led to overcrowding and limited access to water, sanitation, medicine, and shelter, despite efforts by authorities, UNHCR, and partners, calling for urgent international support to ensure returns take place in conditions of safety, dignity, and sustainability.
Conditions in many return areas in the DRC remain fragile, with acute humanitarian needs as indicated by initial UNHCR assessments in Uvira and Fizi, where families are arriving with few belongings and require immediate assistance, including shelter, basic household items, healthcare, and access to water and sanitation.
The assessment also found that many returnees discovered their homes destroyed and belongings looted, leaving them unable to rebuild their lives without substantial support.
As of 23 March 2026, Burundi hosts about 109,000 Congolese refugees, including around 67,000 in Busuma.
Currently, fighting persists in parts of South Kivu, with reports of attacks on civilians in Minembwe, according to AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka.
“The killings, as well as the forced displacement of our Banyamulenge compatriots, continue relentlessly,” Kanyuka said. “Entire families are being decimated.”
Kanyuka stated that on the night of Match 23 to 24, 2026, government forces and allied groups, including the Wazalendo, attacked civilians in Kalehe territory and Cumuyaga. Kanyuka claimed that five people were killed, another seriously injured, and livestock looted. In the village of Bibatama, he said six civilians were also killed and one seriously injured.
“These barbaric attacks against civilians once again illustrate a pattern of terror and predation targeting local populations,” added the label spokesperson.