More than 33,000 Congolese refugees have returned to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo from Burundi within a single month, following the reopening of the Burundi–DRC border on 23 February, as reported in a briefing note published by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Most are crossing back through the Kavimvira border point near Uvira in South Kivu Province — the same area they fled months earlier when fighting between the Armed Forces of the DRC and the M23 armed group forced thousands to seek safety in Burundi. The return is happening against a backdrop of severe underfunding in Burundi, where shortened aid lifelines have pushed many to go home even as the situation at home remains fragile.
The speed and scale of the return are testing what limited support systems exist. In Burundi, around 30% of returnees previously lived in the overcrowded Busuma refugee site, where funding shortfalls have already reduced water, sanitation, medicine, and shelter. Nearly 4,500 people remain in transit centers awaiting relocation. Across the border, initial UNHCR assessments in Uvira and Fizi show families arriving with almost nothing — homes destroyed, possessions looted, and no immediate access to shelter, water, or health care.
UNHCR and partners are ramping up protection monitoring and emergency assistance, deploying teams at border crossings and return areas to identify vulnerable individuals, provide emergency tarpaulins, blankets, soap, and basic protection services, and support the delivery of hot meals. The agency is also working with national and local authorities to ensure that returns remain voluntary, safe, and dignified. At the same time, it warns that hope for stability should not expose families to renewed risk — reinforcing that security, basic services, and support for host communities will be critical to sustainable return.
UNHCR’s response to refugees, returnees, and internally displaced people in the DRC is only 34% funded against $145 million in needs, while its response for Congolese refugees still in Burundi is just 20% funded. The agency is calling for urgent additional resources to keep pace with the flow of people — and to ensure that returning families don’t arrive home only to find they have nowhere to start again.
