In addition to affecting post-conflict reconstruction in the country, fighting in the unpredictable and volatile eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is threatening the stability of the Great Lakes region. The resultant insecurity in the country has resulted in large numbers of Congolese refugees and asylum seekers crossing into neighbouring countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda. However, renewed fighting in the area has led to increased tensions between the DRC and its neighbours, with a renewed surge in Congolese asylum seekers flocking to Burundi to escape the conflict that broke out in the eastern DRC in mid-July.

This latest issue has severely escalated the DRC’s internal war further into an external one, with clashes have between supporters of rebel leader Laurent Nkunda and the Congolese National Armed Forces, and further pressures between the DRC and Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi.

Tensions have been exacerbated with the Rwandan Government after being accused by the DRC of supporting Nkunda’s operations, due Nkunda’s protection of ethnic Tutsis in the region from attacks by ethnic Hutu militias. In addition, a diplomatic war between the DRC and Uganda has broken out over Lake Albert border disputes and the presence of the Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in the eastern DRC - all of which have now been worsened by asylum seekers entering the various countries.

Humanitarian groups estimate that 650,000 Congolese have been displaced in the North Kivu province of the DRC alone. However, an accurate assessment of the scale of the displacement is difficult to make, since the UNHCR has limited access to the area. In an act of frustration over the prevailing situation, hundreds of asylum seekers from the eastern DRC have been camping in front of the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura. Estimates from the Burundian Ministry of Home Affairs place the daily arrival of asylum seekers from the South Kivu region in the eastern DRC into Burundi at between 50 and 100. These asylum seekers often have to wait several days before they receive the necessary papers entitling them to assistance, with reports of some of the Congolese asylum seekers have camped in front of the UNHCR offices for as long as two months, before being relocated elsewhere.

In 2006, Burundi was already host to more than 30,000 Congolese refugees. Due to the large influx of asylum seekers and the slow pace of processing the necessary documentation, it is difficult for Burundian and UN authorities to plan and manage the situation. Health workers in Burundi are having difficulties reaching Congolese refugees who are living outside refugee camps - many who are especially vulnerable to HIV & AIDS and other diseases.

This new influx of refugees comes at the same time when Burundi is trying to consolidate their own peace process and is preparing for the return of approximately 150,000 Burundians who are living in Tanzanian refugee camps. Tanzania has indicated that it wants all Burundian refugees to return to Burundi by the end of 2007.

From 20 September, Burundian authorities and the UNHCR started moving the asylum seekers who have been camping at the UNHCR offices in Bujumbura, to refugee camps in the Kigobe quarter in Bujumbura and to other parts of the country, such as Musasa, Mwaro, Gasorwe and the Northern Ngozi province. The refugee camp at Musasa currently hosts 5,000 refugees and efforts are being made to enlarge the camp. Plans are also under way to set up a new refugee camp in the eastern province of Rutana, which hopes to host approximately 30,000 refugees. There were also plans to build a refugee camp in the southern province of Makamba, but this option was found to be too expensive.

In addition to the Congolese refugees in Burundi, approximately 10,000 Congolese are reported to have crossed the border into Uganda in early-September, fleeing the fighting in eastern DRC. This recent influx of Congolese refugees has already placed immense pressure on Burundi’s resources - an issue which will undoubtedly cause further inter-country strife.

This issue is further exacerbated at a time when Uganda is already hosting a significant amount of refugees and has to manage its own internal problems at the same time.