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Gallery|Refugees

Congolese refugees in Burundi face starvation and violence amid aid cuts

Shortages and security worsen in Burundi’s overcrowded camps for people fleeing DRC war.

Congolese refugees in Burundi face starvation and violence amid aid cuts
A Burundian government official speaks with newly arrived Congolese refugees awaiting relocation while weighing a sack of rice from the final batches delivered by the now-dismantled US Agency for International Development (USAID). [Luis Tato/AFP]
Published On 26 May 202526 May 2025
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Claude fears he may soon die – either from starvation or violence – as he waits at a food distribution tent in a refugee camp in Burundi.

He is among thousands of Congolese refugees trapped between a brutal conflict across the border and severe reductions in international food assistance.

A former bouncer from Uvira, a town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Claude fled after violence erupted in the east, sparked by the rapid advance of the Rwanda-backed M23 group.

Armed groups “were shooting, killing each other, … raping women,” recalled the 25-year-old, who escaped across the border into Burundi in February.

In the overcrowded Musenyi camp, Claude now faces a different struggle as food rations dwindle.

Hunger has fuelled new tensions within the camp, prompting Claude to join volunteers who patrol the area to prevent theft of what supplies remain.

“When I arrived here, I was given 3.5kg [7.7lb] of rice per month. Now it’s a kilo [2.2lb]. The 3kg [6.6lb] of peas have dropped to 1.8kg [4lb]. What I get in tomato sauce lasts one day. Then it’s over,” said Claude, whose name has been changed for security reasons, as have the names of other refugees interviewed.

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Some of the most desperate resort to slashing neighbours’ tents in search of food, he added, while gangs “spread terror”.

“The reduction of assistance will lead to many crimes,” he warned.

Oscar Niyibizi, the camp’s deputy administrator, described the cut in food rations as a “major challenge” that could “cause security disruption”.

He urges refugees to cultivate land nearby but said external support remains desperately needed.

The administration of United States President Donald Trump slashed its aid budget by 80 percent, and other Western nations have also reduced donations. As a result, many NGOs and United Nations agencies have been forced to close or significantly scale back their programmes.

These cutbacks have come at a “very bad time” as fighting escalates in the DRC, according to Geoffrey Kirenga, head of mission for Save the Children in Burundi.

Burundi, one of the world’s poorest countries, has received more than 71,000 Congolese refugees since January while still hosting thousands from previous conflicts.

Established last year to accommodate 10,000 people, the Musenyi camp’s population is now nearly twice that number.

In addition to food shortages, the reduction in aid has led NGOs to discontinue support services for survivors of sexual violence, who are numerous in the camp, Kirenga said.

His gravest concern is that “deaths from hunger” may become inevitable.

The World Food Programme has halved rations since March and warned that without renewed US funding, all assistance could end by November.

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According to the UN, hundreds of Congolese refugees are compelled to risk returning across the border in search of food.

Congolese refugees in Burundi face starvation and violence amid aid cuts
Since January, more than 71,000 people fleeing violence in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo have crossed into Burundi, the United Nations says. [Luis Tato/AFP]
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Congolese refugees in Burundi face starvation and violence amid aid cuts
Congolese refugees look through a corrugated metal fence at the final batches of food delivered by USAID in a storage area at the Musenyi refugee camp in Giharo in southeastern Burundi. [Luis Tato/AFP]
Congolese refugees in Burundi face starvation and violence amid aid cuts
A refugee receives a sack of food and bottles of cooking oil as others wait in the hopes of also receiving aid during a food distribution at the Musenyi camp. [Luis Tato/AFP]
Congolese refugees in Burundi face starvation and violence amid aid cuts
A worker carries sacks of aid on his back as refugees gather during food distribution. [Luis Tato/AFP]
Congolese refugees in Burundi face starvation and violence amid aid cuts
Aid cuts have forced NGOs to axe support for victims of sexual violence, of whom there are many in the camp. [Luis Tato/AFP]
Congolese refugees in Burundi face starvation and violence amid aid cuts
A Congolese refugee waits for a meal to be cooked at a communal cooking area at the Musenyi refugee camp. [Luis Tato/AFP]
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Congolese refugees in Burundi face starvation and violence amid aid cuts
Newly arrived families of Congolese refugees wait for clearance after unloading their belongings from a truck upon arrival at the Cishemere Transit Centre near Buganda in northwestern Burundi. [Luis Tato/AFP]
Congolese refugees in Burundi face starvation and violence amid aid cuts
Refugees move around rows of tents as a storm approaches at the Musenyi camp. [Luis Tato/AFP]


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