Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo (24 March 2026) – More than 33,000 Congolese refugees have returned spontaneously from Burundi to eastern DRC in just one month since the border reopened on 23 February, prompting UNHCR to appeal for immediate international funding to ensure safe and sustainable reintegration.
The returns follow intense fighting in December 2025 between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and the M23 armed group, which displaced thousands from Uvira and nearby areas in South Kivu province. Most returnees are crossing at the Kavimvira border point near Uvira, driven by recent stability and severe underfunding of refugee aid in Burundi.
“UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is calling for urgent international support to ensure that returns take place in conditions of safety, dignity and sustainability,” said Ali Mahamat, UNHCR Head of Sub-Office in Goma, at a press briefing today at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
About 30 percent of returnees came from Burundi’s overcrowded Busuma refugee site, where funding shortfalls have slashed access to water, sanitation, medicine, and shelter. Nearly 4,500 people still wait in transit centres for relocation there. Burundi hosts around 109,000 Congolese refugees as of 23 March, including 67,000 at Busuma.
In DRC return areas like Uvira and Fizi, conditions remain precarious. Initial UNHCR assessments reveal families arriving with minimal possessions, facing destroyed homes, looted belongings, and desperate needs for shelter, health care, water, and sanitation. “Many returned to find their homes destroyed and belongings looted, leaving them in deep despair,” Mahamat noted.
UNHCR teams, coordinating with DRC authorities, have ramped up border monitoring, protection services, emergency tarps, blankets, soap, hot meals, registration, and screening for vulnerable cases. “Refugee decisions to return must be respected, and all returns must remain voluntary, safe and dignified,” the agency stressed.
Funding gaps exacerbate the crisis: UNHCR’s DRC response for refugees, returnees, and IDPs stands at 34 percent of a $145 million need, while aid for Congolese refugees in Burundi is only 20 percent funded. Without more support, Mahamat warned, returns risk exposing families to renewed violence and hardship.
