AS families across much of the world prepare for Christmas celebrations, the United Nations refugee agency has issued an urgent appeal for nearly $50 million to assist hundreds of thousands of people for whom the festive season is a distant thought – families fleeing escalating violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees warned Thursday that a humanitarian crisis has reached a critical point in Burundi, where more than 84,000 DRC refugees have arrived since early December alone, fleeing intense fighting in the eastern DRC’s South Kivu province.
“Women and children are particularly affected, arriving exhausted and severely traumatised, bearing the physical and psychological marks of terrifying violence,” said Brigitte Mukanga-Eno, UNHCR’s representative in Burundi, speaking at a press briefing in Geneva. She described meeting pregnant women who had not eaten in days.
The sudden influx has pushed the total number of DRC refugees and asylum-seekers in Burundi above 200,000, overwhelming transit centres that now operate at nearly 200 percent capacity in some locations. Thousands continue to cross the border daily, on foot and by boat, creating what UNHCR describes as a major humanitarian emergency requiring immediate global support.
Inside the DRC, the situation is even more dire. Violence, drone attacks and bombardments have displaced more than 500,000 people from their homes in South Kivu, with many forced to flee multiple times this year. Schools have been converted into overcrowded dormitories, and the first cases of cholera are emerging as fighting continues to restrict humanitarian access.
Burundi’s government has designated a new refugee site at Bweru in Ruyigi province, where nearly 21,000 people have been relocated. But conditions remain desperate. Many families sleep in the open without tents, exposed to harsh weather in a high-altitude area where temperatures drop sharply at night amid ongoing rains.
Water and sanitation shortages at overcrowded sites are increasing the risk of disease outbreaks, including cholera and mpox, the agency warned.
UNHCR is seeking $47.2 million over the next four months to assist 500,000 internally displaced people in the DRC and up to 166,000 refugees in Burundi, Rwanda and other neighbouring countries. The agency warned that without swift additional funding, aid delivery will continue to be delayed and more people will be put at risk.
Despite limited resources, UNHCR and partners are registering new arrivals and providing essentials including household items, blankets and buckets, while setting up infrastructure at the new Bweru site. Protection teams are identifying people with specific needs, particularly unaccompanied children and survivors of sexual violence.
The agency reiterated its call for an end to the conflict in eastern DRC and urged all parties to honour recent peace commitments, protect civilians, and ensure safe humanitarian access.
