Amid safety fears, Burundi to repatriate 200,000 refugees from Tanzania

There are approximately 200,000 Burundian refugees in Tanzania

BUJUMBURA, Aug 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tanzania says it has reached an agreement with neighbouring Burundi to begin sending back all 200,000 Burundian refugees from October, adding that the repatriation will take place in collaboration with the United Nations.

However, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said in a statement that the conditions in Burundi, which was plunged into a political crisis four years ago, are not “conducive to promote returns” and noted that it is assisting refugees who indicate they have made a voluntary choice to return home.

Hundreds of Burundians have been killed in clashes with security forces since 2015, when President Pierre Nkurunziza ran for a third, disputed term in office.

Over the same period, more than 400,000 have fled abroad, predominantly to Tanzania, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.

A former ethnic Hutu guerrilla leader, Nkurunziza came to power in 2005 at the end of a civil war in which 300,000 died. Last year he won a referendum that could allow him to stay in office until 2034.

Burundi and Tanzania agreed at the weekend that repatriations would start on Oct. 1, the Interior Minister in Bujumbura, Pascal Barandagiye, told reporters on Tuesday.

Tanzania’s Home Affairs Minister Kangi Lugola said it would facilitate the return of “all Burundians” in the country because “Burundi is peaceful”, according to a video posted on the ministry’s Twitter feed on Sunday.

“Under this agreement, it will be 2,000 refugees who will be repatriated every week until there are no more Burundian refugees in Tanzania,” he said.

Lugola said that Burundi is currently at peace, adding that he had “information whereby people, international organisations, are deceiving people, telling them there is no peace in Burundi”.

He was speaking after he and Burundian Interior Minister Pascal Barandagiye on Sunday visited a camp where they annouced the return to the refugees themselves.

Meanwhile, Dana Hughes, the UNHCR spokesperson for East Horn and Great Lakes, said around 75,000 Burundians had returned home in the past two years. She added, however, that hundreds still flee Burundi each month and urged governments in the region to maintain open borders and access to asylum for those who need it.

UNHCR also called upon the governments of Tanzania and Burundi “to uphold international obligations and ensure that any returns are voluntary in line with the tripartite agreement signed in March of 2018”, referring to a deal covering refugees who wish to return on a voluntary basis.

“The UNHCR urges states to ensure that no refugee is returned to Burundi against their will, and that measures are taken to make conditions in Burundi more conducive for refugees returns, including confidence-building efforts and incentives for those who have chosen to go home,” Hughes said. — NNN-AGENCIES